Spilling Stars
by Fantasiimaker
Summary: Sakura’s summer vacation is going horribly, until she runs into a boy who touches her heart like no one ever has. When school starts, he appears again-as a completely different person. Can Sakura uncover who he truly is? S+S, E+T Please R&R!!
1. Vacation

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~~~~~**

**Disclaimer: **Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to Clamp. Not me. That's why this is a FAN fiction. 

**~~~~~**

**Summary: **Sakura's summer vacation is going horribly, until she runs into a boy who touches her heart like no one ever has. When school starts, he appears again-as a cold, untrusting rich guy who has the attention of every girl in school. Could he possibly be the same person? 

**~~~~~ **

***Author's Note-** Hey everyone, this is my new story! I've worked on it for a while, so please take a look and be sure to tell me if you like it! 

**~Chapter One: Vacation**

A little girl skipped lightly along the sparkling white beach, sand flying behind from her small feet. The ocean breeze stirred lazily at her pink-flowered dress and her short hair, which glinted reddish-brown in the sun. She stopped for a moment to look back at the two tiny figures in the distance. "Daddy! Touya!" she called, waving to them happily. 

She felt something poking her foot in the warm sand and stooped down to see what it was. A white seashell. Squealing at her discovery, she brushed the sand away from it and held it carefully with cupped hands. This was a treasure, and she had found it all by herself! Joy and pride filled her heart. 

Leaping up, she splashed through shallow ocean waves that only came up to her ankles, waving her arm wildly. "Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found! Daddy-!"

Her feet suddenly flew out from under her, and she landed hard, half on the sand, half in the water. The shell flew out of her grasp and fell, with a small plunk, into the water. 

For a second, she was too surprised to react. Then her eyes opened wide, and the tears streamed down her cheeks like a flood. "Waaaaaahh!!" she sobbed loudly, sitting back in the sand. 

She heard light footsteps behind her scuttling closer, then coming to a pause next to her. Paying no attention, she continued to grieve sorrowfully over her lost item. "Why are you crying?" a small voice piped up. Startled, the girl looked up into the dark amber eyes of a young boy. He was leaning over her with an expression of curiosity. 

"I lost my shell!" she told him mournfully. "It fell into the water somewhere..." Her mouth trembled, and she looked dangerously close to crying again. But before she could, the boy threw himself into the water. "Wha-what are you doing?" she asked, puzzled. She threw a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. It was such a funny sight, with his legs sticking straight out of the ocean.

When he came out, the boy was holding something in his hand. "Is this your shell?" he asked shyly.

"Yes! You found it! Thank you!" she cried in delight, throwing her arms around him and squishing him tightly in a hug. She didn't see the blush spreading slowly across his face.

"Sakura! It's time to go!" called her father. 

"Okay, Daddy!" She pulled away and gave him a smile that outshined the sun in its warmth. "Thank you for helping me," she said to the boy. "Here, I'll give you my shell. You can have it." She put it into his hand and put her hand over his, folding it closed. Smiling swiftly over her shoulder, she skipped merrily away from him to her waiting family. 

The little boy stared down at the sand-colored shell in his hand. Suddenly, his head shot up. "Wait!" he called.

But she was already too far away to hear.

*****

"Unngh..." Sakura Kinomoto woke up to the sunlight falling in bright bands across her face through the window. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and blinked at the ceiling, then groaned again and flung a hand over her eyes. "My dream..." she mumbled. "Come back to me..." Turning over, she pulling the blanket tighter around herself. What was this dream that she had been having lately? Even though she couldn't remember all of the dream, it always gave her a warm, contented feeling, a sense of simple, childish innocence and joy. She smiled to herself, envisioning the seashore she had seen beneath her closed eyelids. She wanted to go there, away from everything...she wanted to escape.

Sighing, she pulled herself up and trudged to the door. Did she really want to go out there? Well, it wasn't as though she had a choice. She shrugged and reached down to open the door. Her hand barely touched the knob before it flew open by itself, slamming right into her face.

"Sakura, get up! We're gonna be late!" said her older brother, Touya, to the empty bed. "Oh..." He looked down at Sakura, clutching her forehead and grimacing in pain. "Sorry, didn't see you there," he smirked. "Well, now that you're up..." 

He started to leave, but Sakura brought her foot swiftly down on his, yelling, "You stupid idiot!" Grinning with satisfaction as he winced, she realized that he wasn't hugely taller than her anymore. She could at least inflict a little damage now.

"God, Sakura! You're in high school, and you haven't changed a bit. You're still a little mon-" She cut him off with a hard push and chased him out of her room, down the stairs. "-ster!" he finished, making a face at her as he sat down at the table. "Morning, Dad."

"Good morning, Touya, Sakura. Did you sleep well?" Fujitaka, the kind glasses-clad man that Sakura knew as father, lowered his newspaper and smiled at them. Sakura smiled weakly back and took her seat. Stupid Touya. She rubbed her head gingerly, glaring at her brother, who was wolfing down his breakfast as fast as he could. 

"Why are you eating so fast?" she grumbled, picking up her fork and half-heartedly digging into her omelet. 

"Sooner we finish, the sooner we can hit the road! C'mon, eat faster, squirt! You're such a slowpoke!" Touya swung his empty plate over her head and headed for the sink. 

"Stupid," complained Sakura. "Why are you in such a big hurry?" 

"I heard the beach is really nice this time of the year," he replied, grinning.

"Hah! You're just want to go there so you can drool over girls in swimsuits! I see you've turned into an old pervert in college! And who says we're going to the beach? What if I want to go hiking or something? I doubt you'll find any bikinis in the national forest- Hey!" She ducked quickly from his punch.

"Hand me the chips, monster," said Touya. 

Sighing, Sakura rummaged around under her car seat until she came up with the bag, and she tossed it at him. They had been in the car for almost five hours, and she was ready to burst. She stared out of the window at the passing landscape, the dry yellow grazing land dotted with cattle, giving way to tall pine trees that stood on both sides of the road. The sky was so blue today, there wasn't a single cloud in sight. If only she weren't here in this car, it would have been an almost perfect day. 

She leaned her head against the cool window, looking at her faint reflection in it. Wishing to be somewhere else wouldn't do any good; she was already on the way to a nice family vacation. But Tomoyo's words to her last night still echoed in her head. "Sakura! You have to go to the party! Keichii's definitely going to be there this time! You have to!" she had said excitedly over the phone. But Sakura had said no and had hung up sadly, feeling the tears prick at her eyes. Now that she thought about it, she realized how stupid those tears were. 

"What a waste," she muttered under her breath.

"Hm? Did you say something, Sakura?" Fujitaka glanced up at her backseat image in the mirror. 

"Oh, nothing!" she smiled.

It wasn't as though she had no way to go to the party. If she had explained to her father, he would have understood and postponed the vacation for the next day. But the vacation hadn't been the reason why she didn't want to go. It was...

It was Meilin. Sakura was immediately ashamed at these thoughts about her friend, but she knew it was true. If Meilin and Keichii were going to the same party, she didn't want to be there. Even though she, Tomoyo, and Meilin had been the best of friends ever since grade school... Even though she and Meilin had giggled and talked about countless guys as they were growing up... Even though they had gone through so many precious experiences...

Keichii. 

Sakura's heart jumped at the word, at the very thought of his picture imbedded deeply in her mind. _You're so stupid, Sakura,_ she thought. _Why are you thinking about him now? Just forget him. He's already forgotten about you. _She swallowed and stared hard into the window. 

"Yoohoo! Hello, Earth to Sakura!" said Touya, waving a hand in front of her face. 

"What?" she snapped. 

Touya laughed. "What do you mean, what? We're here!" he said, pushed open the door, and jumped outside. Sakura followed him, pulling her bag with her. The air smelled different from the town where they lived; here, it was all fresh and natural, without any busy streets, garbage, or excessive signs of human technology. Their cabin was made of wood and blended very well with the thick trees around it, or so it looked from the outside. She walked after Fujitaka and Touya into the building and gasped at what she saw. 

They had just walked into what seemed to be a very large living room, with logs already crackling merrily in fireplace and comfy sofas surrounding it. The wooden-planked floor now became lush carpet, feeling soft to Sakura's feet even through her socks. To her right, she could see a clean white kitchen with a refrigerator even bigger than the one they had at home. Large windows across the room let in so much light that hardly any light was needed, at least until the night. Suddenly, she rushed to the windows.

"Wow..." she said gazing at the crystal waves in the not-so-far-distance. "You can see the ocean from here!" 

Fujitaka chuckled softly. "Your room is upstairs, but you don't have to unpack now-" 

Sakura cut him off and flew up the stairs, squealing, "My own room! Yesss!" She skidded to a halt in the upstairs hall, disbelieving, and called down, "Um, which room is it?" There were at least five bedrooms there. This house sure didn't seem so huge from the outside.

"The one nearest to the stairs!" he called back. 

After getting settled into her room, Sakura wandered downstairs again, full of questions. When could she go out and explore? What was there to do around here? What were they having for dinner? And how in the world could they possibly be able to afford a place like this? They weren't exactly poor, but she knew they had to save for her going to college in a few years. No way would her father do something like this for no reason. 

"Dad!" she called, peeking into the many rooms.

"Yes, Sakura?" He was sitting on the couch, leafing through pamphlets, and he smiled at her. "I take it you like where we're staying?" 

"Oh, I love it!" she said. "But Dad, how are we paying for all this? I mean, it looks like such an expensive place..." 

The doorbell rang, and Sakura looked up at the door, surprised that someone would call on them so soon after they arrived. "Should I get it?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's all right, I'll get it," said Fujitaka, rising from his seat and striding towards the door. He pulled it open and smiled. "Yelan, you're here," he said. Sakura peeked around the door. It was a tall woman who had an elegant, dignified look about her. Her dark hair was tied back, and she swept gracefully and effortlessly into the house, a swan gliding on lake water. 

"Fujitaka Kinomoto," she said, taking his hand. "It's been a very long time." Sakura found herself staring at the familiarity between her father and this strange lady, staring at her as she stared back. Something twisted into an uncomfortable knot deep inside her. 

"Ah, Sakura, this Yelan Li. And this answers your question as well. We won't be the only ones staying here. She and her son will be sharing this cabin with us, so we each payed in part for the stay," Fujitaka explained. 

Yelan smiled warmly down at Sakura. "It's wonderful to finally meet you," she said. "You know, my son is about your age. The two of you should get acquainted with each other. I don't know where he ran off to, but he should be back soon." 

"Where are the girls?" asked Fujitaka. 

"Oh, they're all in college or working now, so they would rather go vacationing with their friends. No time to hang around their old mother!" The two parents laughed together. 

"Hey, Sakura!" called Touya from upstairs. "You got a call from your friend, Tomoyo! How the heck did she get my cell number anyway??"

Happy for the chance to escape, Sakura bolted to her brother and yanked the phone out of his hands, yelling, "I gave it to her!", ran into her room and flung the door closed behind her. "Tomoyo?" she said, throwing herself on the bed with the cell phone clutched tightly in her hands. 

"Sakura! You know what Meilin said? She told me that Keichii said he wanted to see you at the party!"

Her heart began to thump quickly. Keichii...? What did this mean? Did it mean that he...?

"But...ah..." Tomoyo continued. "He said this to her while they were...um..."

"What, Tomoyo?? Hurry up and say it!"

"-on a date!" she bursted out. "I'm so sorry, Sakura! I don't know when they got so close, but Meilin called me and said they went out, and-"

"Calm down, Tomoyo," said Sakura. "I really don't mind. I don't care about that idiot- I mean, Keichii, anymore. It was over a long time ago, remember? Like last year? I'm way over it now. So just give Meilin my congratulations. Gotta go now. Bye." She pressed the off button on the cell and laid her head down wearily on the bed's freshly laundered white sheets. This was it. No more stupid childish obsessions over Keichii. From this moment on, she resolved to throw him out of her mind. Or at least lock him away somewhere. It really didn't matter now. He had never shown any sign that he thought of her as more than a friend. So that was all they were. Friends. And that was okay. Everything would be okay...

She trudged slowly down the stairs again, hoping her father, Touya, or even Yelan could perhaps offer some distraction. Maybe one of them could tell her about any fun places she could go to nearby. The door to the kitchen and dining room was closed. "Strange," she muttered, reaching out to push it open. But she stopped when she heard voices behind it.

"-lucky she isn't here," murmured a female voice. 

"Yes, we can't let her know about this until the time is right," said a deeper voice. Sakura gasped in recognition and clamped a hand over her mouth. Yelan and her father! She pressed an ear against the door, listening with intent curiously. Who was this "she" they were talking about?

"Your daughter seems not to trust me very much, Fujitaka."

Soft laughter. "Don't worry, she'll get to know you. All she needs is a little time." Sakura's eyes widened. They were talking about her! 

She heard some rustling and clinking, and then, "Oh Fujitaka, you musn't do that!" 

"Calm down, Yelan, it's all right. Nadeshiko loved this-" At the mention of her mother's name, Sakura turned and fled. Even though she couldn't believe her ears, she had certainly heard enough. Was her own father having a secret girlfriend behind her back...? The thought sickened her. Had he forgotten about her mother already? Sakura banged open the front door, not bothering to close it behind her, and raced blindly away from the cabin, filled with fiery rage and sorrow.

***A/N-** Soooo...what did you think? I know I rambled on a bit, but I had to get all the intro and setting stuff out of the way. SO review, tell me if you liked it or no. Oh, and Sakura will be meeting a certain someone in the next chapter...  ^_^


	2. Syaoran

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

***A/N- **Thanks for the reviews!! My very first reviewers for this story: cherryblossom, Winter Dreams, hana-lai, Kitty Neko, sarah, mizutenshiai, kawaii-fairy-emma, and katana-chan!! I'm so happy T_T  Thanks for correcting me on Touya's name, it was spelled "Toya" in one of the manga... U_U  This chapter turned out longer than I thought it would...owell, that just means you get to read more! I'll stop rambling and let you read now! ^_^;;

**~Chapter Two: Syaoran**

Sakura plunged on along the dirt path, not really caring where she ended up as long as she could get away from that cabin. This was like one of those nightmares she'd had when she was little, of running away as fast as she could from the horrible monsters. Except this was real. Her monsters were Fujitaka and Yelan, and the thought of Keichii being with Meilin. She almost cried out at the unfairness of it all. Why did everyone else seem to be able to happily find someone to be with, even though they were completely blind to how wrong it was? Why was she the one running, and all alone? Was the whole world against her? If it was, then so be it. She wouldn't back down one step until she'd beaten it. 

Clenching her fists defiantly, she came to a stop at a fork in the road. From here, she could barely see the cabin; it was only a tiny dollhouse standing a million miles away, and she didn't care to go back. She peered at the wooden sign in the center of the fork. One arrow pointed to "Whitesands Beach" and the other to "Goshawk Trail". There was bound to be more people on the beach, on a sunny day like this. Sakura turned to the trail and ran until she couldn't see the cabin anymore, until her chest heaved with exhaustion and she had to lean down to catch her breath. 

"Thank god I'm taking track," she muttered to the ground, panting. That was one advantage about loving P.E.; she could run anywhere. But this run wasn't quite as enjoyable, for a bitter clenching tore at her insides, and she was sure it wasn't physical. She decided to walk instead, taking her time on the trail that was so empty of people. Tall conifers and pines were mixed in with leafy deciduous trees that had squirrels chattering all over them for the acorns. Sakura stopped to watch the antics of two squirrels that were scampering after each other's bushy tails. "Even the squirrels are against me," she smiled, strolling on through the woods.

What was she going to do? The shadows of darkness would fall soon, and she couldn't possibly stay out here into the night, could she? "I should have grabbed my bag before hurrying out so fast," she groaned. "It's getting so cold..." Shivering, Sakura rubbed her arms and started to walk more briskly for added warmth. Was she even still on the trail? All she could see was a faint trace of wavering road, with leaves and grasses taking over as she moved ahead. Well, maybe it was one of those loop trails, so she could end up where she started and find her way out. But if it wasn't...

No, she didn't want to think about it. She began to think what a fool she was for running off like that, so spontaneously, without even a little planning. Her legs began to feel weak, and she plopped down against a tree just as she was about to collapse. "I give up," she whispered, feeling moisture come to her eyes. She let the tears wash over her like rain, immersing all of her thoughts in a salty ocean. There was no one here to see anyway, she was all alone. Pulling her legs against her body to ward off the cold, she closed her eyes. 

"Wait!" she cried, flinging her head up. "What am I doing, giving up so easily? I've held on for all this time, I know I can make it through this."

"You definitely will," agreed a male voice.

"That's right! I'll think of something to do. Even if I have to live out here and eat tree bark and acorns!" 

"Anything...whatever happens, just don't give up," said the voice.

"That's right-" Sakura began, but stopped in mid-word. A young man stood on the edge of trail a few feet away from her. His face was turned away from her, gazing deep into the trees, and he was holding onto a pair of binoculars that were slung around his neck. A bulky backpack hung from his back.

She got up and stepped curiously closer to him, eyeing him warily. It had been hard to see him in the dusky half-darkness, but now that she was closer she could see that he was young, perhaps her age. His messy brown hair fell across his eyes, giving him a wild, careless look. He wasn't quite muscular, but there was a lean toughness to him that suggested he was good at athletics. He still wasn't looking at her, but had his eyes glued to his binoculars now. 

"Are you done studying me?" His voice made Sakura jump in surprise. He lowered his eyes to hers and smiled. For some reason, she couldn't look away. His eyes were a light brown, almost amber in color, and they softened into a light-hearted twinkle when he laughed. "Not yet, I see. Am I that interesting to look at?" he teased. 

Quickly, she looked away, her cheeks on fire. Why couldn't she say anything? "No, not interesting at all," she countered. "Why would there be anything interesting about you, except that your face looks like a dirty toilet seat." She cursed herself silently. That wasn't what she thought at all, his face was actually not quite bad looking. Why couldn't she say anything nice? 

Her anger flared when she realized he was shaking silently with laughter. "What's so funny, stupid?" she barked, shoving him back. 

His laughter died down to an amused smile. "What are you doing out here all alone?" he said, looking back to his binos. 

"I-I'm...What are _you_ doing out here? And what are you always looking at with the binoculars?" 

"I asked you first. But I'll tell you. I'm here so I can spend some time alone, maybe even camp out." He indicated his bulging backpack. "And as for this, would you like to see?" Taking the binoculars from his neck, he offered them to her and, putting his hands over hers, guided her to the spot he had been looking at. At first, Sakura saw and felt nothing but the warmth of his hands, his soft breath against her hair. Then, as she slowly focused, a flash of red caught her eye. "See it?" he said into her ear. 

She gasped. A small flame-colored songbird flapped its way across the dark trees with sleek black wings. The beauty of such as simple thing as its flight astonished her, and when the bird flashed out of sight, she lowered the binoculars reluctantly.

"Scarlet Tanager," said the boy, grinning at her wordlessness as she handed them back. "Feeling better now?"

"What, who says I wasn't feeling fine before?" Sakura glared at him. Why did she have to be so rude to him? She couldn't stop it.

The heavy backpack slid down to the ground, and he rummaged around inside. "You were crying," he commented nonchalantly, pulling out a bottle of water. Oh yes. Crying. She had almost forgotten. Turning away, Sakura lowered her face as the thoughts flooded her mind once again. Darn it, why did he have to bring that up now? She went back to her tree and sat down, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

"Water?" he asked, holding out a bottle to her. Gratefully, she took it and drank, hoping that the bitter lump in her throat could be washed away. Staring down at the plastic water bottle, she didn't look at him as he lowered himself to sit next to her. "You know," he said with a contented sigh. "Just being out here makes me feel whole. There's none of the stress of the real world that you have to think about. Just toss it all away into the wind, even for a few moments. You don't have to worry about your problems, you don't have to talk to anyone-"

"Then why are you talking to me?" Sakura interrupted, turning to look straight into his surprised eyes. Hers were quivering and full of tears, and she knew she must look like a fool, but she let them stream down her cheeks. Why was she showing this weak side of her to a complete stranger? This was almost like a dream... Maybe it was a dream...

He reached out and touched her wet face, slowly brushing the tears away. The feel of his hand lingered, and Sakura wondered why she suddenly wanted it to last forever. "I don't know. I don't know why I'm talking to you," he said, not looking away from her. "Please don't ask me again." Pain suddenly clouded his bright eyes, but it was replaced so quickly by concern that she wondered if it had ever really been there. "Tell me why you're crying," he said.

No. Don't tell him. Why should she tell someone she didn't even know things that she never told anyone else? But it spilled out of her mouth before she could close it, "Keichii." She mentally kicked herself.

He nodded. "Your boyfriend?" 

"No, he's not my boyfriend. He's..." she trailed off, wondering if she should really trust this guy.

"Just tell me. I don't go to your school or live anywhere close to you, so it doesn't matter."

That settled it. In a moment, Sakura was pouring everything out to him- how everything had changed when she had entered high school; how Tomoyo, her best friend since forever, still talked to her sometimes but was completely distant in school and hung out with the beautiful popular crowd now; how Meilin, her only other good friend, just _had_ to develop a crush on Keichii... Keichii, the boy she had secretly liked since seventh grade, though it had been no secret to her best friends of course. Keichii... She bubbled on happily about him, her eyes turning bright as she described his tennis skills, his hilarious attempts at breakdancing, his seeming attraction to Meilin. 

"And the worst thing is, I- I've told him how I feel," she finally admitted, and waited for the familiar sense of misery to sweep over. But it didn't come this time. She looked at the brown-haired boy, and he was still sitting there, watching and waiting patiently, his eyes focused on her. So she continued, "I told him one day, near the end of eighth grade, and his friends were there with him. He...he completely humiliated me in front of everyone. Just turned me right down." She laughed. "I'm way over him now, though, so I don't care."

"I don't think so," he stated at once, making Sakura glance up in surprise. "The way you were talking about him with such detail, I think you still like him a lot. You seem to really know him and admire him-" He stopped when he saw her head bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Are you cold?" he asked gently.

"Yes," came her whispered reply. She felt a jacket slip around her, still warm from his body, and saw that he was now only wearing a dark green T-shirt and jeans in the cool dusk. "No, I can't," she protested, starting to take the jacket off, but he stubbornly wrestled it back on her.

"I don't want you freezing to death, young lady," he mocked sternly. He sounded so silly that Sakura laughed aloud, but she pulled the jacket off again and threw it at him. It hit him square in the face, and with an angry growl he pounced and wrapped the jacket over her once more, pinning her arms down to her sides so she couldn't move, even though she struggled.

She ended up with her face in chest, his strong arms locked around her. Even though they were both standing up, she still had to look up to see his face. "You're tall," she murmured into his shoulder.

"What? Did you say something? I can't really hear you," he said annoyingly, not moving an inch.

"That's because you're SQUISHING MY FACE!" At this he finally loosened his grip a little, and Sakura lifted her head gasping for sweet night air. Her head was spinning, either from the fact that she was so close to this guy she didn't even know, the earlier spill of emotions, or the momentary lack of air. She didn't really know which, and she didn't care. Suddenly, she just felt like crying.

"What's your name?" she asked, looking up at him.

He smiled. "Syaoran. And you, miss?"

"Sakura," she said. "Syaoran, may I borrow your shoulder for just a moment?"

"Whatever you wish."

"Thank you." 

She buried her head in his shoulder and cried.

"Thanks, I feel much better now," said Sakura, wiping the last of her tears away and smiling ruefully at Syaoran. "I...I'm sorry for-" 

"No need to apologize, I was planning to wash this shirt anyway," he said very seriously. She stared at him for a long moment. Only when she grinned did he finally permit himself to chuckle. "It's really all right," he said. "I'm glad my shoulder and I were able to offer you some assistance."

Sakura glanced at the dark sky. The sun had almost completely disappeared by now. And this boy had given her courage. "I think I should go back now," she commented.

"Okay. Bye." Syaoran waved cheerfully.

His abruptness disconcerted her, and she began to waver on her decision. "Um... well..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well... Aren't you going too?" she bursted.

"Nope. I think I'll just camp out here for the night," he said. "I have some food and a sleeping bag. It's what I came out here for. Some quality nature time." He grinned.

"Oh..." Sakura was disappointed. She had thought that perhaps he could walk with her. "Well I'm... kinda lost. Do you know how to get back to the beach-trail fork?"

"It's just that way." Syaoran pointed straight ahead. "Follow that trail, and it'll lead you to the fork. Do you need me to come with you?"

Yes! Yes! I need you to come! "No, it's okay. I'll be fine," she smiled reassuringly. "Have fun staying here, with all the lions and tigers and bears and other scary night creatures!" She made a face at him.

"I will!" he laughed. "And with the calls of owls and nighthawks, the wind rushing through the pines, and the stirring of sunset in the morning." He winked at her. Suddenly, she wanted so much to stay with him that her sadness probably showed through in her face, because he came to her and handed her the binoculars. "Keep them," he said. "Take good care of them too, they were quite expensive. Use them well. Oh, and don't ever smile, every time you do all men within a five mile radius swoon to the ground." Sakura laughed at the image his words conjured up. 

Syaoran leaned forward and kissed her hair swiftly, not letting go as he murmured into it, "Hurry up and go now, your parents are probably sick with worry." He gave her a little push, propelling her in the right direction. She kept walking quickly, not trusting herself to keep her feet going forward if she dared to looked back. 

***A/N-** Ack! I still didn't resolve the Fujitaka/Yelan thing yet. Sorry... you'll find out in the next chapter, I promise. ^_^ Thanks again for the reviews, plz plz keep it up! Just click the button right down there and tell me what you think. You're the wonderfullest! :-D


	3. Back to School

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

~**Chapter Three: Back to School**

At the sound of the door, two seated figures bursted up from the living room. "Sakura!" said Fujitaka, hugging her tightly. Sakura was relieved; he didn't scold her. There were deep shades of worry in his eyes, and he was too weary and grateful for her return to question right now. But Touya didn't hesitate.

"Sakura, you idiot! Where in the world have you been, you worried us half to death! My god! Dad even called the police, we thought you were lost or kidnapped or-" He cut himself off when he saw her just standing there silently, looking down at her feet. "Sakura?" he said a little more gently. 

Her hands rose quickly to cover her face from view, but the others could tell from her quivering shoulders that she was crying. At once, Fujitaka embraced his daughter, smoothing her disheveled hair and whispering, "Sakura, honey, it's all right, you don't have to say anything. Just tell me what's wrong when you're ready. Tell me how I can help you." Touya stared speechlessly at his usually cheerful little sister, now weeping so despairingly.

"Dad." Her voice was muffled and thick with tears.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Dad...you should have told me about your new girlfriend before." She couldn't keep the contempt out of her voice, and she pushed herself away from him and stared at the carpet again. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to forget about Mom? Why didn't you tell me anything?" she cried, clenching her fists. 

Shocked, Fujitaka went to his daughter and tilted her head up until she was looking him in the eye. "What are you talking about, Sakura? How could you say such a thing?"

"Yelan!" she said furiously.

"Yelan...?" he said. "There's nothing between us. She's a good friend of mine and Sonomi's from a while back, and we lost contact for a while when she was living in Hong Kong. When she offered to spend the weekend with us at the cabin, of course I jumped at the chance to catch up with her."

Her father had mentioned Sonomi. "Tomoyo's mom?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes, the three of us were very good friends."

"Well then, what-what were you and Yelan doing in the dining room today?" she said confusedly, not so sure of herself anymore.

"Oh that!" Fujitaka smiled. "What exactly did you hear? We were trying to prepare a special dinner for you kids, but Yelan insists that my cooking technique is all wrong. I did get quite a few pointers from her by the end. But when we were almost done, Touya flew into the kitchen with the news that you were missing..."

"Oh..." she said sheepishly, blushing. "I-I'm sorry. I guess I was, ah, too quick to jump to conclusions."

"I'd say you were! Running off without telling anyone, who knows what might've happened...where did you go anyway??" Touya interjected furiously.

Sakura smiled sweetly at her brother. "I went for a walk," she said, as though that explained everything. "Where's Yelan?" she asked, turning to Fujitaka. "I think I should apologize to her for ruining the dinner."

"She drove off to the police station to see what news they have of you...for the third time," he explained, making her cringe. She already felt bad enough. But she brightened a little when her father smiled warmly. "I'm glad you're starting to change your mind about Yelan. She's a very remarkable person, and her son as well. Professionally trained in martial arts and swordfighting. They've moved around often because of Yelan's work, but he attended all the top schools in each area."

"Hmph, sounds like a little brat to me," said Touya, and he started off to his room. "If the kid ever bothers Sakura, I'll beat the-the-" He withered under Fujitaka's raised eyebrows. "-oh fine-the _stuffing_ out of him. You stay away from him, Sakura!" 

She laughed at her father's consternation. "Don't worry, Dad, he's always overprotective. I think that's just his way of showing that he cares." 

He chuckled. "Well, I'll introduce you to Yelan's son when they both return. I'm sure you two will get along very well."

"Maybe," Sakura said vaguely. It didn't really matter to her now. She had already found someone interesting on this trip, and she was glad she had come to meet him. Now if only she could see him again...

"Are you kidding me? You never saw him once?"

"Nope. And after the second day, we had to go back early because the university had an emergency and needed a substitute archaeology teacher, and Dad was the best choice. You know how he is, he couldn't refuse even though we were on vacation. Anyway, I never saw that Li kid at all. Yelan-his mom-said he was probably away practicing karate by himself or something." Sakura twisted the phone cord around her finger, then untangled it so she could spoon more cereal into her mouth. 

"Wow, that's weird. Well, I gotta go make sure my video camera has enough batteries for the first day of tenth grade. See you in a bit, Sakura!"

"Okay, bye Tomoyo," she said and hung up with a sigh. Sure, she would see Tomoyo in a bit, but they sure wouldn't be able to talk as freely as they just did. She didn't understand why. 

Gulping down her orange juice, she grabbed her new backpack and yelled, "Bye Dad, bye Touya!" and went to the door to pull on her beloved roller blades. They were getting old now, and she had to squeeze to fit her feet inside. Standing unsteadily, she called out a final, "Bye!" and pushed off to the door, but she slipped and fell backwards. Someone caught her before she hit the ground. "Touya!" 

"Haha, you have school today and I don't," he smirked and dropped her gently to the ground.

"Who cares, you have to go back to college in only a week. Oh no, my skates!" Sakura pulled them off and stared at the cracked wheels. 

"No wonder you fell," said Touya. "You should get some new ones soon."

"But I'm so broke!" she wailed. She looked down at her watch. "No, I'm gonna be late!!" Having no other choice, she put on shoes and banged open the front door. "Bye!" she said, and started to run. 

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the cool morning wind against her hair and the rhythmic beat of her feet against sidewalk. Suddenly, she stared at a white moving truck that was parked at a large house across the street. Movers were straining to lift expensive-looking furniture toward the door. "Wow, new people," she said thoughtfully. "Wonder if they have anyone my age?" She jogged the rest of the way to school, fluttery with excitement.

After getting her class schedule, Sakura got in the long line for yearbook pictures. She still hadn't seen Meilin or Tomoyo yet, and it felt depressing not to be running to her friends and yakking away happily about the summer like everyone else. But then, would it really be the same now? Tomoyo had her own group, and Meilin had Keichii. Still, having anyone to talk to would be better than standing in this crowd surrounded by people, yet so alone. She straightened up, craning to look over the sea of heads for a friendly face. 

A loud giggle came from behind her, and a girl's voice said, "Hi!" Sakura whipped around excitedly, looking for Meilin or Tomoyo. But it was some strange girl she didn't know, and she wasn't even talking to Sakura. The girl was busy squeezing the breath out of her boyfriend. "I missed you sooo much!" she squeaked. 

The boy pretended to be exasperated, yet it was obvious that he was pleased at the attention. "You saw me yesterday," he said, rolling his eyes. 

"Yesterday was a long time," she said, grabbing his hands and grinning at him. He blushed and grinned back. Feeling worse than ever, Sakura turned back around to face the front of the line and crossed her arms. This was going to be a long wait. Some people jostled her, crossing through the line to reach friends on the other side. Three upperclassmen were fooling around behind her, swearing and acting tough to scare freshmen out of their pants. She tried not to listen to their foul language and focused on moving with the line so she could get out of here as soon as possible. 

"Hey, what about her?" she heard, and dread filled her mind. Laughing like hyenas, the older guys were stepping closer. A heavy push pitched her forward, and she crashed into someone's backpack. Wincing, she glared at the upperclassmen, who were now taunting her, "Hey little girl, you all alone? Want me to be your friend?" They laughed.

"She doesn't need you asses. She already has friends," said a deep voice behind her. Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. This was the voice that had resounded in her mind for almost three years.

The guys backed off. "Sorry man, just bumped into her. We weren't gonna hurt her or anything." Losing interest, they left to find some more vulnerable kid to torture.

Sakura still didn't turn around. She didn't want to look at him. "Sakura?" he said, touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Of course I'm not okay, you dummy. It's all your fault. Suddenly, an image of Syaoran's smiling face flashed into her mind, and it gave her courage. Turning around, she put on a false smile and said, "Hi Keichii." 

He was still the same tall, familiar Keichii from last year, his eyes smiling down at her and filling her with a fuzzy warmth. His hair was shorter now, and spiked, with blondish highlights. They looked pretty good, she grudgingly admitted to herself, and standing on her tiptoes, she touched one of the spikes. "Sharp," she said with a genuine smile this time. "I like it. But I still think the green was better."

"Yeah, I know," he said, sighing. "But after that laundry incident, my mom threw a fit and almost kicked me out of the house. Besides, don't you think this is more natural?"

"Doesn't matter. Anything looks great on you," she said. This was better, just being friends. It was so easy to talk to him this way, and she didn't have to think about anything else.  

Keichii smiled at her. "Thanks, Sakura."

"Keichii!" A sharp-eyed girl with dark hair appeared out of nowhere and latched herself around Keichii's arm. "C'mon, Yamazaki and everyone are over there waiting for us. Let's go!" 

"But-" He looked helplessly at Sakura. She shrugged and glanced away.

"Oh, hi Sakura!" Meilin came up to her and gave her a hug, but it seemed somehow cold and stiff. "I'll see you in a while. C'mon, Keichii!!" He waved to Sakura as he was dragged away, but she didn't wave back. Inside, she was fuming. How could Meilin treat her this way, like she didn't even know her? This was so stupid...and it was all over some stupid guy. 

But he's not just a stupid guy. He's Keichii! her mind argued. 

"Argh, just forget him!" she said aloud, stomping the ground. She was almost to the photographer now. 

Her eye was drawn to a crowd of girls waiting by the exit door. "Smile, Tomoyo!" one of them said. "You look so beautiful!" another squealed. "I just love your hair!" Yes. It really was Tomoyo. Sakura almost waved and called to her, but she restrained herself. The other girls would give her strange looks if she did. But Tomoyo caught her eye and ran to her side as soon as the picture was taken. 

"Sakura!" she cried, throwing her arms around her friend. "It's so great to see you! Um, why don't you come with us-"

"Tomoyo! Hurry up!" called one girl.

"It's okay," Sakura smiled. "I still have to take my picture. Just go with them, you don't want to keep them waiting."

"All right then..." said Tomoyo hesitantly. "Bye, Sakura!" She ran off to join her friends.  

Sakura sat down heavily and regarded the camera with an annoyed air. How could she hope to smile now? "Ready?" said the photographer. She nodded, preparing for an ugly yearbook picture. Just then, Syaoran's words about smiling popped into her mind, and she laughed out at the last minute. 

The camera flashed.

"Now what?" Sakura murmured, walking aimlessly around her school. There were the steps where she, Meilin, and Tomoyo had hung out in the beginning of last year. Memories flooded back to her, memories that were painful because they no longer existed. And there was the library, where she had gone numerous times by herself just to sit in the quiet and work, or read, because she had had nowhere else to go. She hoped it wouldn't be like that again this year. 

Miserably, she wandered to her first period class, English, and sat down at a desk near the front of the room. It wasn't as though she would be able to talk much anyway. There was no one to talk to. She was the first one in; no doubt everyone else was still having a good time with their friends. 

The bell rang, and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. Class would start, she wouldn't have to worry about people or friends, she could just concentrate on work. But then, there was always hope. She glanced at the door, at the students milling in. Perhaps she would meet some new people and find friends who accepted her for who she was, not who she hung out with.

"Good morning, class, and welcome to a brand new school year. I'm Mr. Tanaka." He seems like a nice teacher, she thought as he began to call roll. 

Suddenly, another student walked in. All heads turned to the door in curiousity to see who was late on the very first day. 

Sakura stared, her eyes growing wider with each step that he took into the classroom. Could it be-? The boy handed a piece of paper to Mr. Tanaka, who glanced at it and gave it back to him. "This is Syaoran. He's moved here all the way from Hong Kong, so everyone be nice and welcome him to our school. Syaoran, you can sit there next to-" He looked down at the roll list. "-Sakura. Raise your hand please, Sakura." 

Heart thudding wildly, she raised her hand and watched Syaoran's face as he saw her. Recognition flashed in his eyes, but was gone in an instant as he strode over to his desk and sat down. Excited whispers and giggles floated into the air from the girls around him, but he seemed oblivious to them.  

He didn't even look at Sakura. 

***A/N- **Thank you for reviewing, everyone! I'm really happy to know how much you like this story. You have no idea how much you inspire me! ^_^ As always, I'm glad to know where I've made any mistakes, so be sure to tell me. 


	4. Eriol

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

***A/N-** Sorry for the wait.. -_-;; I might take a bit longer to update for a few chapters because of all these end-of-year projects and studying like crazy for finals. Argh!! But as soon as summer comes, I'll be able to write whenever I want! ^_^ Thanks for waiting patiently. Here's the fourth chapter, enjoy!

~**Chapter Four: Eriol**

"Okay kids, since a lot of us are new here, we'll start off this week with some 'ice-breaking exercises'. We'll be getting to know each other better and learning how to work well with each other." Mr. Tanaka grinned. "That means working with _new_ people, not people you've been best friends with since third grade. I'm sure you'll have fun." The class groaned.

"Alrighty then," said Mr. Tanaka. "Look around, grab a partner, someone sitting close to you, and I want you to find out about each other using those questions on the board. Write it down on binder paper, please. Use at least five questions that I've listed, and make up five on your own. Then you get to introduce your partner to the class. Okay, get to work!"

Immediately, about half of the class jumped to their best friends. The other half sat waveringly, staring around uncertainly at who they might want as a partner. Sakura sat amidst all this, only able to think one thing: Syaoran. Why wasn't he saying anything to her, not even a hi? Had she done something wrong? 

"Hey, wanna be my partner?" Sakura jerked to attention. A girl whom she knew belonged to Tomoyo's crew had sauntered over to Syaoran and was staring at him, waiting for an answer. He was quiet for a moment, contemplating. _Say no, say no, please say no_, Sakura urged silently. 

"All right," said Syaoran, and the girl sat down happily across from him. Sakura watched with a sinking heart. Of course. How could he say no? If he could be so nice to a girl he'd met over vacation, he could say yes to a girl asking to be his partner. What was she thinking? 

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned around with a polite smile ready on her face, but it quickly drooped into an annoyed frown when she saw who it was. 

"Sakura! My little cherry blossom, what is up?"

She turned away in disgust. "I'm not your cherry blossom. Go away, Eriol." This was the last person she wanted to be her partner. "Why don't you go pair up with one of the girls from your adoring fan club?" she said, pointing. Sure enough, a group of girls were gathered a desk or two away throwing goo-goo eyes at Eriol. He gave them a winning grin and waved. 

"Not as good of a reaction as last year," he commented, turning to Sakura. "I believe I have some competition now. See how they're all watching the new boy? Besides, you and I need to catch up." He winked.

"Go away," she said again, heaving a sigh. "Go practice your playerisms on some other girl."

"Aww, I'm so hurt. If you're always gonna be so mean, how will you ever get a boyfriend?" 

Sakura didn't answer. Curiously, Eriol watched to see what she was gazing off into space at. He grinned and poked her in the side. "Oooh...Sakura's in looooove!" he said.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" she said. "Why are you even talking to me?"

"Because you're my darling old friend from elementary school, and I want to know..." he paused to glance at the board. "...What would you do if you didn't have school today?" 

"Knock you out and ship you off to Alaska," she shot back at once. She found herself laughing along with him. It was infectious. Oh well, she might as well put up with him for just one class, since he helped take her mind off of Syaoran. But then...she couldn't stop thinking about him with that girl. 

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll help you get together with him," he said, smiling evilly.

"Don't you dare!" she cried, kicking at him as hard as she could. At her loud outburst, Syaoran turned to see what was going on. She ducked her head quickly, blushing. 

On the way out of the classroom, a fuming Sakura stared at Syaoran's back. What right did he have to act so cold to her? What a jerk! Emboldened by attempting to strangle Eriol numerous times, she scrambled forward and caught Syaoran's arm. 

"Why won't you talk?!" she said, facing him directly. "You act as though we haven't even met! Why can't you just stop hiding behind that silent mask of yours and talk to me?"

"I'm sorry," said Syaoran. He stared at her expressionlessly for a long moment, then left her standing there in the hall, completely bewildered. 

It was lunchtime. 

Sakura stared out over the people scattered across lunch tables. There was nowhere for her to go, so may as well go to the library again. Gripping her food tray tightly, she walked slowly towards the library, trying not to look too much like a loner. What a crappy year this was turning out to be.

Just as she almost reached the door, she bumped into someone and tripped. Her tray flew out of her hand and splattered all over the ground. "What the-!" she cried out, and then she saw the girls. Most were from Tomoyo's group, but some she didn't recognize. They were all eyeing her with a disdainful expression, as though she were a disgusting garden snail that was meant to be squashed. 

Sakura glared back at them. "What do you want?" she said.

"Stay away from Syaoran and Eriol!" a girl named Yumiko snarled. "What right do you have to be so familiar with the two hottest guys in school?"

Sakura snorted. "Oh, since when did Syaoran become-"  

"Shut up!" Yumiko snapped. "I'm just warning you, you'd better leave them alone. They deserve better than the pond scum you are." 

"What would you do if I don't?" Sakura shouted, burning with fury.

"Then don't hope that anyone in this school will ever talk to you again. _Especially _Tomoyo. And, we also have...this." Sneering at her, Yumiko pulled out a folded piece of paper and began to read aloud, "Dear Keichii, This is your love-bunny Sakura. I love you soooo soooo much. I dream about your-" 

"Give me that!" Sakura leaped forward, snatched the letter from her, and crumpled it up tightly in her hands. 

"That's fine. We have plenty of extras," Yumiko smiled, holding up a thick stack of papers.

Sakura felt tears of anger and frustration stinging her eyes. This was so unfair...she didn't know what to do. What _could _she do? All she knew was that she couldn't give up. She had to defy them until the very end. 

"May I see this?" Sakura looked up. It was Syaoran. Without even looking at her, he went straight to Yumiko. She felt her heart sinking within her chest. Even Syaoran was against her now? 

Blushing, Yumiko handed him the entire stack. He flipped through them silently. "Lovely picture," he said at last, holding one up. Sakura stared. It was a Photoshop-altered picture of her with a horribly deformed nose, rotting teeth, and hairs in unnatural places all over her face. 

"You idiot!" she yelled, taking a swing at Syaoran. He ducked and came back up, smiling amusedly. "Just joking," he said quietly. Then he walked over to a nearby recycling bin and dropped the stack of papers inside. 

"Disk, please," he said, holding out his hand. Startled, Yumiko dug into her pocket and handed him a floppy, her hand trembling. He tossed it into the trash can and brushed off his hands. "I don't want to see that kind of abomination again," he said, and turned on his heel. "C'mon Sakura." 

Wide-eyed, she followed him away from the gaping girls. 

"Where are we going?" she said, trotting to keep up with his long stride. He didn't answer. 

They stopped suddenly. "Sakura!" cried Tomoyo, wrapping her friend into a hug and sobbing into her shoulder. "Sakura, I'm so sorry, I didn't know they were like that! I can't believe it, I can't believe I ever called them my friends! Please forgive me!" 

"I had to hold her back to keep her from killing them all," said Eriol with a smile. 

"You're here too?" said Sakura wonderingly, looking around at the three.

"Oh yes. I happened to see what was going on and I was going to swoop in to save you, but I had to restrain violent Tomoyo here. So I sent my boy Syaoran to do the job, since he was more likely to keep his head," he grinned.

"Don't listen to him Sakura, he didn't do anything but stand here like the chicken he is," said Tomoyo.

"Ah, speaking of chicken, it seems we are lacking of a lunch. What say we all go eat some delicious junk food together?" Eriol winked suggestively at Sakura and Tomoyo. 

"No!" they both said at the same time.  

Syaoran was already gone, starting toward the food bar.

"Now we can talk about everything that we've missed!" Tomoyo smiled at her friend as they started to walk home after school.

"Okay!" Sakura smiled back. She had her best friend back now, and everything was just like it had been before. The only thing missing was Meilin, but she could deal with that issue later. Just being able to talk to Tomoyo, walking beside her, was flooding her confidence and happiness. She wouldn't be alone for the whole year! 

"Turn that way," Tomoyo said suddenly, stiffening. 

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, glancing behind them.

"No, don't look, he'll see us!" But it was too late. Tomoyo looked pointedly away as Eriol bounced up to them.

"Hello, ladies! We meet again!" he said, glasses flashing in the sun. "Hi Tomoyo." His head bent down slightly, shading his eyes, and Tomoyo found herself looking back into them, her heart pounding quickly. 

"What are you doing here Eriol? Don't you have your limo to take you home?" said Sakura exasperatedly.

"Well, I decided to walk with my new friend. And since he's new here, I think I'll show him around the place," he said, and stopped to wait for Syaoran. "Yo, hurry up! Look who's here, it's Tomoyo and Sakura!" Syaoran walked past him swiftly, but Eriol caught him and thrusted him in between the two girls so that Syaoran was next to Sakura and he was next to Tomoyo. 

"Hey!" Tomoyo complained, but he shushed her and pointed. "Oh..." She saw Sakura's sudden awkwardness and understood. "So that's what you're up to!" she whispered to Eriol with genuine warmth, for the first time ever. "That's-that's really good of you." 

"Ah, that Tomoyo Daidouji would be nice to me for once in my life! I can die happy!" he said dramatically, pretending to faint. 

"Oh, go away," she said, walking ahead. 

Eriol raced after her, calling out, "Alas! My darling Tomo, come back!" 

Sakura laughed, still walking next to Syaoran. "I've never noticed it before, but those two seem to get along okay," she commented. "What do you think?"

He stared at her blankly.

"Oh c'mon Syaoran! How come you're acting so dumb? I know you're not really like this!" 

"How do you know for sure?" he said, looking at the puffy white clouds sailing slowly across the clear blue sky. "How do you know that the me you knew back on the trail wasn't just a made-up mask, and that this me isn't the one that's real?" 

"Well..." Sakura paused, thinking. This was more words than he any he had said to her all day. "Well, it couldn't be. What you are right now isn't the real you...is it?" 

"Who knows?" he said, smiling sadly. There was silence for a while as they walked along, listening to the sound of cars passing by on the road. Sakura almost said something to break the tension, but he spoke again.

"I've moved a lot," he said. "Each time, I've never really been able to keep my friends. When you leave, when they don't see your face anymore, they tend to forget and move on. Who cares about someone they never see?" 

She looked at him. "Are you scared that this will happen here?"  

"Scared? I don't know. Maybe... But maybe if I don't make any friends, it would be easier than if I had to make some and have them forget me. Saves time, doesn't it?" 

"But how would you survive without friends?" said Sakura.

"I don't know..." He changed the subject. "Are you my friend?" 

The sudden question caught her off guard. "M-me?" she stumbled. He watched her patiently, waiting. "Yes. That is, if you want me to be." 

"Hey you guys, Syaoran's inviting us to his house!" called Eriol from ahead as he turned a corner into a large house. 

"What?!" said Syaoran. "I never said that! Wait! Let's go, Sakura, we'd better get there fast or my mom might..." Trailing off, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as he ran. She felt a thrill at his touch, her senses focusing on this connection between his hand and hers. 

Out of breath, they burst into the house after Tomoyo and Eriol. "Syaoran, you're home?" said a woman's voice. Sakura gasped. Yelan appeared from one of the inner rooms, looking around quizzically at them all. She smiled warmly when she spotted her. "Sakura! It's so good to see you again. Come Syaoran, invite your friends to sit down. Would you like some drinks? Tea?"

"Don't worry about it ma'am, we'll be going in a moment," said Eriol politely. "But thank you very much." 

"Oh now, don't let me scare you kids off," Yelan smiled. "Stay as long as you'd like. I'll be inside if you need me. Remember your manners, Syaoran." She glided away, leaving the four of them alone.

"Want some tea?" Syaoran growled, looking down at the floor.

"No thank you," Tomoyo giggled at how stiffly he was standing. 

"Yes, please," said Eriol, seating himself comfortably on the couch and putting up his feet. 

Syaoran walked past him irritably. "Go get it yourself."

"Syaoran," Sakura spoke up suddenly. "If Yelan's your mother, then..."

"Yeah. She told me about you. Then she was going to have me go to another private school near here, but I said I wanted to try a public school for a change." He went into a different room.

"Ohohoho! Sakura!" Tomoyo laughed. "That translates into 'I wanted to go to your school!'" 

"No it doesn't! It doesn't mean anything!" protested Sakura, trying to keep from blushing and failing. She stepped into the room Syaoran had disappeared into and saw him fingering a book of sheet music. He was standing next to an elegant, expensive-looking grand piano. But then, there were a lot of expensive-looking things in this house. 

"Do you play?" she said. 

Syaoran looked up. "A little," he muttered.

"Let's see if this piano is properly in tune," said Eriol, seating himself at the piano bench with a flourish. "How about...this song. I call it: 'Für Tomoyo.'" He grinned at Tomoyo, who reddened and looked away stubbornly. 

As soon as his fingers touched the white and black keys, a river of dream-like melody flowed through the house. Each note was a drop of sparkling crystal rain hitting water, carrying with it an achingly enchanting beauty. Tomoyo stared in disbelief at this changed Eriol, at how concentrated and serious he looked while urging sweet music from the piano. He was so truly different. Where had this side of him been hiding? 

***A/N- **Review! Before I die from these evil finals... T_T   ^_^;;


	5. Mistaken Identity

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

***A/N**- Waaah! I had 10+ new reviews on June 4th, and they were all deleted by ffnet! And I'm sorry this took soo long, but ffnet wouldn't let me upload anything... T_T  Thanks very much if you reviewed, and review again so I can see who you are! I didn't get to say thanks!! 

I don't put my reviewers here as often as I should, but here's to the reviewers of Chapter Four since I didn't get to thank them personally yet... 

Ongaku – Thanks for reading even during that scary lightning! Thanks to Kitty Neko also! Your stories are both sooo good...so many reviews! I'm going to read them as soon as I can.^_^

cherryblossom – I'm hurrying! 

sourmuggie – Thanks for your profuse compliments... ::blushes::

StarLite – I'm glad you like the story! Evil finals... _

ChiBImIAKa-Chan – Yes, my math final was horrible too. Thanks for reminding me, I need to give Tomoyo more of her own special qualities. ^_^

Scarlet Rose – Thanks, I'll definitely continue!

CronoCat – Yay, haven't seen you in a while! As for your questions, they'll be answered soon... ^_^

dilly-sammas luver – Er...interesting ideas.

Bunny-chan19 – See, I'm not dead yet! Ch 5 is here!

Sabriel -  Thanks^_^

CuziMaGrl -  There IS a reason that the title is Spilling Stars. I think it's more fun to discover it yourself, possibly in the next chapter...

keroberos – Thank you! :-D

purplelover* - I'll be updating faster from now on!

sally – Thanks for reading!

Joanna – I'm glad you like the story! I can't wait until S+S are a couple either!  :-P

silver_dragon – I'm updating! ^_^

helen – Thanks!!

Whew... Okay then, go read! 

**~Chapter Five: Mistaken Identity**

Tomoyo blinked as Sakura waved her hand in front of her face. "Hello? Have you been listening to a word I said?" said Sakura, staring strangely at her friend. "Are you okay, Tomoyo? You had a kind of faraway look there." 

They were sitting on the bed in Sakura's room trying to do homework, watch TV, and talk all at the same time. Then suddenly, for no reason, Tomoyo had stared off into space with a thoughtful look. She blushed lightly when Sakura brought her back to reality. "Aha! I know, you're thinking about a guy, aren't you?" Sakura proclaimed, catching on immediately. "Who is it? Tell me!"

Blushing even harder, Tomoyo murmured, "It's...it's no one... Just..." She ripped absentmindedly at the edge of a piece of binder paper. 

"Yes?" Sakura prompted.

"Well, he... He seems so different, but I don't think..." Abruptly, she up and began stuffing her homework papers into her backpack. "I know he doesn't really mean anything! He's just playing around, having fun. He always likes to get attention. Forget it!" She pulled the backpack zipper shut angrily and slung it over her shoulder. 

"Oh, Sakura, we should go hang out over the weekend," she said, changing back to her old self again.

"Sure, where?"

"Hmm...how about the mall? We can get you some cute new outfits, and then I get to tape you!"

"Oh...kay..." Sakura wasn't too thrilled about the videotaping stuff again, but at least she'd get to spend time with her friend. "Well, do you want to ask anyone else to come?"

"Ummm..." Tomoyo thought for a moment, and a pink tint appeared on her cheeks which quickly turned into a flush of anger. "No! Why should I ask _him _to come? He's such a big fat idiot!" Confused, Sakura looked on as she stomped huffily out of the room. A moment later, she popped her head back in. "Sakura? Are you going to enter the talent show at lunch on Friday?" 

"What? Why should I? You're the unbelievably talented singer. If I did go up, I'd probably just trip on my face and make a fool of myself in front of half the school," said Sakura, rolling her eyes.

"But you could dance or something! You're the best cheerleader, Sakura!"

"Tomoyo, that was back in elementary school."

"Still! If you were going to perform, I was hoping I could tape you. I haven't added anything new to the Sakura archive for a long time!" She looked a little sad. "But I'm going to sing so I can tone up for choir. Will you be there to watch me, please?"

"Of course!" Sakura replied, giving her friend a smile.

"Thanks," Tomoyo smiled back. "I'm so glad we're friends again." 

Friday dawned bright, warm, and sunshiny. But the sun became Sakura's worst enemy as it glared down at her on their weekly mile run in P.E. It was lucky Tomoyo wasn't in this class to tape down her sweaty and disheveled state. She jogged along steadily on the track, huffing and puffing in the smothering heat. "After the run, you can go to the gym and practice badminton with a partner," the P.E. teacher had said. Oh sure, if I don't melt before I get there, thought Sakura. The thought of the cool gym and whacking birdies with a racquet made her put on an extra burst of speed. 

She tripped over something in her way and lurched forward, almost losing her balance. A girl jogged past her, grinning smugly. One of Yumiko's friends, no doubt. 

"Oh Syaoran, you're so fast," came a giggly voice from behind her. She listened closely for an answer, but there was none. A good sign. Hopefully, Syaoran had enough sense to stay away from those girls. 

A heavy push pitched her forward. It was almost like the encounter on the first day of school, except this time she was in her P.E. clothes, shorts and a T-shirt. And she was already running fast, so this push would knock her to the ground at a force that would almost certainly give her injuries. All this flashed hazily through her mind as she felt the hands push her, always those same people harassing her like this, it was unbearable-

Sakura landed on something soft. 

A person. Great, even more embarrassment. She prepared to apologize profusely. 

"Are you hurt?" She opened her eyes in surprise. Looking at her with concern, Syaoran was lying on his back, his arms curved around her as though he had been trying to catch her. To protect her. 

"I-I'm fine," she stammered, reddening. 

He smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. Well, you'd better go. You have a lap to finish." 

"Are _you_ okay?" she asked. 

"Sure. Don't worry about me," he replied, pushing himself up. 

"All right then. Um...thanks," she said, and continued her run, trying not to think too much about knocking Syaoran over. 

Yes... She was almost done now... Half a lap to go... She heard feet pounding softly behind her, and now they were right next to her. Could it be Syaoran again? She jogged faster, calling back, "You can't beat me!" Suddenly, someone poked her gently in her side, and she stopped in surprise at the feel of it. So it wasn't Syaoran after all. The person surged past her, finishing the lap, and flashed her an innocent grin. 

"I beat you," he said, running a hand through his sweat-dampened but still standing spikes. 

"Stupid Keichii," she gasped and leaned down to catch her breath, auburn strands falling across her face. Keichii reached down slowly and pulled them aside so he could see her green eyes. She caught her breath, her heartbeat thundering rapidly.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" he said, half-teasing, half-serious. She looked at him for a second and pulled away without realizing it. What was wrong with him touching her hair? They were friends, right? But it just didn't feel comfortable, her mind protested. It wasn't right. 

"C'mon Sakura, let's go play badminton," said Keichii. 

"Coming," she replied, giving him a weak smile. He was pretty good at racquet sports, after all. They always used to pair up for sports partners. They used to be such good friends, before Meilin, before she told him how she felt. She was just thankful that things were back to normal now. 

Following him to the gym, Sakura grabbed a racquet and readied herself for a good game. "Who're we playing today?" she said. 

"Yamazaki and his new partner," said Keichii, leading the way to an empty court. "He wanted a rematch, but he's just gonna lose again..." He smiled at her. The two of them were great together since they had played side by side so many times. They could beat almost anyone. 

"You're goin' down!" Yamazaki trotted up to the other side of the court and waved his racquet at them to show he was ready. Sakura gasped when she saw who his partner was. 

Syaoran.

He looked at her expressionlessly, not seeming very surprised. When she didn't stop gaping at him, he winked quickly and tossed the birdie into the air. He smacked it powerfully, and it flew straight for her. 

With a fierce joy, Sakura smashed it back across the court. "Get ready to die!" she called out, grinning. 

"I can't believe it. They killed us!" said Keichii, shaking his head. He was walking with Sakura as they headed to lunch. 

"It was all Syaoran," she said, smiling to herself. "He's so good! He definitely needs to join the team."

"Oh. Um," he began uncomfortably. "Where are you going for lunch?" 

"I've gotta go see Tomoyo perform. Wanna come?" she asked. She didn't really have to say that, since they were already at the stage outside the auditorium. The sound system was set up, and the first person up for the show was practicing piano nervously. Sakura spotted Tomoyo in the back looking very upset, and she struggled through the gathering crowd to her friend.

"You idiot! I let you hold it for two seconds, and you-!" She was positively fuming; the smoke was practically visible pouring from her ears.

Eriol was facing her words and wincing. "I told you, Tomoyo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lose it on purpose! Please don't kill me!"

"What's going on?" asked Sakura. 

"That...that _idiot_ can't find the CD I'm supposed to sing to!" Tomoyo told her, pointing a trembling finger at Eriol. "I swear, I'm going to kill him as soon as I get a chance!"

"Aaaand next up, with her amazing vocal ability, it's Miss Tomoyo Daidouji!"

"Oh my god! Sakura, what am I gonna do?? I really don't want to sing without music!" she whispered. 

Eriol went up to her, and she opened her mouth to yell at him. "Calm down, Tomoyo," he said. "I've got it covered. You just get out there and belt your heart out." Clasping her hands in his briefly, he crossed to the piano and sat down with his fingers poised above the keys.

"What in the world is he doing-?" she breathed, going to the microphone stand in the middle of the stage. As soon as she appeared, the crowd erupted into wild cheers. Tomoyo was well known for singing, and even separating from the popular girls' group hadn't fazed her popularity with the fans. Smiling calmly but still quivering with uncertainty on the inside, she tentatively hummed a few notes from the opening. 

At once, Eriol began to play. It was the exact same background music for the song, except sweeter somehow all in piano. And the realization that someone was actually up there with her holding the same notes inside his mind drove all her fear away. She didn't even have time to wonder why or how he knew that song, only that it was time for her to sing. 

_Haruka na hoshizora ni    _

_yume wa mada miemasu ka?_

_Osanai ano hi yori    _

_azayaka desu ka? _

    Can you still see your dreams 

in the distant, starry sky?

    Are they more vivid 

than they were when you were little?

_Mune ni afurete     _

_tsunoru omoi_

_nemuri wasurete    _

_jounetsu no iro..._

    When one forgets to put 

the emotions that overflow in her heart

    to rest, they burn the color of passion.

_Tatoe tookute mo    _

_kitto tadoritsukeru     _

_tsuyoku shinjite'ta_

_ano hi no watashi ga    _

_ima mo kokoro de nemutte-iru _

    I used to believe without a doubt 

that I could reach my dreams, 

     no matter how far off they were.

    But that me from long ago 

now sleeps inside my heart. 

She finished the first chorus and glanced at Eriol. Nodding as he played, he gave her a smile. Yes. They could do it. Letting the clear piano music wash over her, she brought up the words that went with it.

_GARASU no bara yori mo    _

_hakanakute moroi no ni_

_yume miru koto wa naze    _

_sadame na no deshou _

Dreams are more fragile and fleeting 

than a glass rose,

    so then why 

are we destined to dream?

_Futatsu no yume ga     _

_ai ni natte_

_ai ni narenai koto mo atte_

Sometimes two dreams 

can turn into love,

    but there are also times when they can't.

_Hito wa hitori da to    _

_wakariaitai no ni     _

_nante muzukashii_

_kotoba wa muryoku de    _

_toki ni wa gin no NAIFU ni naru_

Even when they're alone, 

people want to share their feelings, but it can be so hard.

    Words are powerless 

to express one's feelings, 

and sometimes they become a silver knife.

_Tatoe tookute mo    _

_kitto tadoritsukeru     _

_tsuyoku shinjite'ta_

_ano hi no watashi ga    _

_ima mo kokoro de nemutte-iru _

Tomoyo let the last word hang in the air for a moment, blending perfectly with the piano's last notes. And then they were finished. It was over. 

The applause was deafening, and it didn't show any signs of letting up anytime soon. "Thank you," she said into the microphone, and she looked around for Sakura. There she was, scrambling toward her, arms open for a hug of congratulations. Tomoyo grinned and opened her arms wide. 

"Sakura! I did it!" she cried, laughing with relief. It was then that she noticed that the shoulder her head was leaning against was way too broad to be Sakura's. 

"Yup, you did it," said Eriol's voice. "And you were absolutely beautiful."

Nope. Definitely not Sakura. 

"Eriol, why do you have a hand mark on your face?" Sakura asked after school as the four of them walked home. 

Groaning, he touched his cheek gingerly. "Don't even ask," he mumbled injuredly. "I helped her, and she wouldn't even give me some thanks in return..." He stuck out his tongue at Tomoyo, who glared at him in return.

"H-hey, what exactly did you try to do to her?" said Sakura, rushing quickly to defend her friend. 

"Nothing! I didn't do anything! And what are you laughing about? Some friend you are!" 

Syaoran was grinning widely. "He tried to hug her. You should have seen his face when she hit him," he said to Sakura. 

"Oh, is that all?" Trying hard not to laugh at the image Syaoran had conjured up in her mind, she turned to Tomoyo. "Maybe you shouldn't have been so...so..."

"Violent," Eriol offered.

"-er...yea, that," she said. "I mean, he was nice enough to play that song for you."

"No, it was probably all rigged! I'll bet you anything he somehow found out what song I was going to sing ahead of time and got the sheet music, memorized it, and lost my CD on purpose just so he could go up there and play!"

"Ouch...she's on to me!" Eriol winced, unzipping his backpack and pulling out the CD. Glaring, Tomoyo snatched it from his hand and stalked away. 

"Tomoyo, where are you going?" Sakura called after her.

"I'm calling to have someone pick me up so I can go home!" 

"Tomoyo, go out with me tomorrow!" Eriol shouted.

"I'm busy tomorrow! And even if I did have free time, I'd never go out with a perverted idiot like you!" 

"Well, it was worth a try," he sighed. Turning around, he saw Syaoran and Sakura clutching their sides with laughter. "Hey! Shut up already! What's so funny??"

***A/N- **The song Tomoyo was singing is called "Scarlet" (or "Suka-retto" in Japanese) the opening song from Ayashi no Ceres. Listen to it if you haven't before! 

Again, thanks for all the reviews! While you're waiting for the next chapter to come out, go take a look at my other CCS story, "Dance With Me"! It's not as long and detailed as this one, but I think it's sweet. ^_^

Review, and the next chapter shall magically appear –POOF!- before your eyes! 


	6. Opening Up

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Six: Opening Up**

A long, sleek black limousine rolled to a stop by the side of the high school. Spotting it, Tomoyo trotted quickly toward it, but she slowed her pace when one of the windows slid down and revealed a pretty, short-haired woman. "Mother!" Tomoyo cried, flying to the limo's side. "What are you doing here? Is anything wrong?" Sonomi Daidouji was seldom gone from work this early during the day, and it was hard to remember a time when she had ever come to school personally to pick her up. 

"No, nothing's wrong dear," Sonomi smiled. "We're going to eat dinner with an old friend of mine, so I decided to come and get you now."

"Dinner? But it's only three..."

"Oh yes. I'm sorry this is on such short notice, Tomoyo. You can do your homework at her house. We'll need quite a while to catch up on things, I haven't seen her for so long. And Sakura will be there too, so don't worry."

"Sakura?? But why-"

"Tomoyo, wait!" a boy's voice interrupted. A second later, Eriol was standing before her, gasping for breath; apparently, he had been running to catch her. "Tomoyo, I'm truly sorry about the song thing but I didn't know how else I could get your attention and you kept ignoring me so please just go with me tomorrow for something harmless like a bite to eat or-" The words tumbled out of his mouth very fast, as though he was afraid she'd run away before he could finish. "Please Tomoyo, please!" He got down on his knees and begged, making big sad puppy-dog eyes at her. "Pweeeeze?" 

She sighed impatiently and looked away, but that didn't keep a small blush from her cheeks. "Go away, Eriol. You're just embarrassing me." Suddenly, she was aware that Sonomi was watching from the limo with avid amusement. Her blush deepened. 

"Oh, I know!" Eriol brightened. "We can double-date with Sakura and Syaoran! You want to help Sakura, don't you? Can't you see how those two are just way too shy to make the first move? All you have to do is pretend to like me, just a little-?" He looked at her hopefully, then was quickly crestfallen at her expression of disgust. "Fine then, pretend to _tolerate _me a little, and we can give those two the perfect opportunity! What do you say?"

Tomoyo's mind raced. That was quite a good idea, she had to admit. But that would mean putting up with Eriol for a date, and that was something she didn't want to do. She bit her lip, thinking. 

"I think that's a fine idea, Tomoyo," said Sonomi, who had been watching silently from the car. She turned to Eriol and offered her hand through the window. "I'm Tomoyo's mother," she smiled. "And you are?" 

"Eriol Hiiragizawa," he shook her hand and bowed politely, a bit embarrassed at his actions a few moments before. 

"He seems like a nice young man. Why don't you all go out and enjoy yourselves?" Sonomi suggested, her eyes twinkling at Tomoyo, who flushed and pressed her lips together in a thin line. Eriol beamed.

With a defeated glare at both her mom and Eriol, Tomoyo pulled open the door and started to get in the limo. "Fine, I'll go!" she growled, turning suddenly to Eriol. "But don't you dare try anything funny, or you can just forget about it!" 

"I'll be good," he promised, winking at her. "Aww, c'mon, don't be so mad! Just think of it as a chance to get Sakura and Syaoran together." 

"Did you say Syaoran?" Sonomi said. "We're going to his home right now. His mother is the old friend I was talking about, Tomoyo. Since you all seem to know each other... Why don't you come along, Eriol? Think you can stay for dinner?" 

"Sure! Thanks for inviting me, ma'am!" Grinning cheekily, Eriol stepped into the open car at once. "Coming, Tomoyo?"

She stood near the door, red and trembling with fury. How could her own mother do this to her?? "I'm coming," she said through clenched teeth and got into the limo, sitting as far away from Eriol as she possibly could. 

*****

In the shade of a large umbrella, the four sat at a table and sipped silently at their drinks. They didn't look like a pair of couples out on a date at all. Eriol glanced at Syaoran and Sakura, who were both concentrating very hard on their smoothies, and Tomoyo, who was looking pointedly away from him. He heaved a soft sigh. 

"Tomoyo!" he exclaimed suddenly, leaping up from his chair and breaking the stifling silence. "Let's go get some ice cream! Have I mentioned that your mother is a terrific cook? I thought I'd burst last night from all that great food, haven't eaten like that in years..." He took Tomoyo by the arm and began to pull her away from the table with him. 

"What are you doing?" she hissed, yanking her arm out of his grasp as soon as they were out of sight.

"Giving them some space! Look at them, sitting there like stone statues. It's crazy!" 

"Yes, but Sakura-"

"They're not children, you know. I'm sure they can take care of themselves," he said, dripping with sarcasm. "Besides, you and I need to get a few things straight." For once, he looked dead serious as his gaze fell on Tomoyo's surprised eyes. 

"W-what..?" she croaked, backing away nervously as he continued to advance in her direction.

Suddenly, she was wrapped up in a warm hug that swept her breath away. Heart thudding furiously, his breath tickled her ear as he whispered into it, "Just because we're helping out our friends doesn't mean we can't have a good time ourselves." He pulled her closer, and she just didn't have the strength or will to push him away. Closing her eyes, she slowly, tentatively wrapped her arms around him and breathed in the vague scent of some fancy cologne. This was wrong. She shouldn't be blushing, shouldn't be relishing the feel of his arms holding her, shouldn't be hugging him back like this. But if this was wrong, why was she still here?

"Tell me," he said gently. "why you hate me." 

"I don't hate you." The words were out of her mouth at once before she could shut it. She was glad that she was in his embrace now, so she wouldn't have to look in his eyes. 

"Then why are you always-"

"-so mean to you?" Tomoyo finished for him. "Well, it's always been a bit hard to...to show people my true feelings. Sakura was my best friend, and I could trust her. I was much more open then. But my mother was never around, and when she was, we always went to these extravagant parties hosted by wealthy people. I was taught to always smile, be polite and graceful and beautiful and..." 

She paused to catch her breath at this sudden spilling of words. Who knew she'd be telling Eriol this, of all people? "...and I didn't trust guys. Even when they were interested in me, I was afraid that there would be nothing inside. That they were just wearing an empty shell. Nothing real. So I pushed them away."

She stared over his shoulder miserably, waiting for some smart remark, a laugh or smirk. Eriol wasn't supposed to discover all this about her. Now he would probably think she was a crazy guy-hater or something and stay as far away from her as he could. Wonderful. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for him to say something. 

But then, this was Eriol the Player, after all. Why was she caring so much about what he thought of her? Tomoyo's anger flared up for a moment as she turned to defensive mode. But her cool, logical thoughts quickly fled to the very back of her mind. Eriol pulled back a few inches from her and looked into her dark amethyst eyes.

"Don't try to push me away now," he whispered softly. "Because no matter where you go, I'll always be there. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth if I need to."

*****

Sakura twisted around in her chair, scanning the sunny sidewalks for her friends. Why'd they just leave like that? Wrinkling her brow in consternation, she pondered this. It felt even stranger, not having those two around to make conversation. True, she had wanted some alone time with Syaoran so they could really _talk_, but right now, this was so... Well, was it really a date? She felt a nervous squirm inside her stomach. It would be much easier if Tomoyo and Eriol were back here. 

"Sakura, if you're uncomfortable, you can just go and find them."

"Hm?" Startled, Sakura whipped back around. Syaoran was smiling softly at her with that quiet way of his, and his amber eyes shining through messy chestnut strands that were falling across his forehead. 

"No, I-I'm fine!" she stammered, looking down at her drink. "I was just wondering where they went, that's all..." 

"It's okay." The chair screeched against the ground as he got up and came over to her side of the table. Leaning with one arm on the table, his eyes twinkled down at her. "I'm scared to death too," he admitted. 

Sakura laughed with him, and the atmosphere loosened up considerably.  

"Let's go somewhere else," said Syaoran.

"Sure," she replied, getting up and stretching. "Where?"

"There's a park near here, I think. Want to walk for a while?" 

"Okay." She followed him through the clusters of tables, wondering if he was finally opening up. He had actually suggested going somewhere himself. A good sign? 

Half-lost in thought, she bumped into someone and turned to apologize. "Sorry, I'm so clumsy- Keichii!" Her eyes widened as she realized who it was. 

"Hey, Sakura," Keichii said, smiling. "And Syaoran." 

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked. 

"Oh, I'm...um..." he reddened, but was saved from answering when Meilin popped into view, holding two tall drinks and a large order of fries. 

"Sakura!" she squealed, almost dropping the food. "You never told me you had a boyfriend!" Handing the food to Keichii, she eyed Syaoran curiously. "Ah, you're that new guy everyone's talking about!" she said, smiling slyly. "Syaoran, right? Nice to meet you." She took his hand and shook it slowly, taking her time. 

Sakura clenched her fist. "That's MY date!" she wanted to yell. Surprised at her feelings, she wondered when she had become so possessive. 

"He's not my boyfriend," she said, staring away again. 

"Well, you're on a date, aren't you? Hey, I know! Why don't you guys come sit with us!" Before anyone could protest, Meilin dragged Syaoran to a table and made him sit down opposite her. "Sit!" she commanded Sakura, pointing to the seat next to him. "And you!" She yanked Keichii down by the arm and moved his chair close to her. 

"Keichii's too shy," she drawled, winking at him. "It's like he's scared of me or something." 

"Yeah right," he shot back, sticking out his tongue at her. She brought her face close to him, and he withdrew his tongue at the last moment. Sakura looked away quickly, not wanting to see them kiss. 

"Sakura," Syaoran said. She glanced into his face and saw concern. His eyes were plainly asking if she was all right. Oh yes. She'd forgotten that she had told Syaoran all about the Keichii thing. 

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"Hey, want some fries?" Keichii held them out to her. She took one and stared at it, not feeling very hungry. 

"Oh, and none for me?" Meilin said indignantly, folding her arms.

"Nope. None at all," he grinned. Opening his mouth to eat one, he bit on thin air as Meilin took the fry out of his hand. She bit the top off of it and giggled, "Here, you can have it back now." 

Sakura was silent. Why did she feel so weird? Keichii wasn't her boyfriend. And here she finally had a chance to really get to know Syaoran, and she was blowing it all. 

Immersed in her troubled thoughts, she didn't notice that Syaoran was watching her carefully.

*****

Later, that night in her room, Sakura squeezed a teddy bear and looked at the clock listlessly. Only eight o'clock. She sighed. There had to be something she could do to untangle all these knots in her mind that were driving her nuts. Sitting down cross-legged on her bed, her eyes wandered out her window into the night. The moon was shining so full and bright tonight, and she could make out faint stars twinkling around it. The night air smelled so cool and refreshing that she just wanted to get out there and let everything go. 

For some reason, her thoughts turned to Syaoran. Was he looking out of his window too, at the same bright orb that she was? Was he also feeling so restless? 

Putting down her bear, she opened the door and headed downstairs. Now that Touya was gone again, the house was much quieter. Even though he was an annoyingly stupid brother, she still missed him. And her father wasn't home yet. Lately, he had taken up a temporary teaching position for a night class, which meant he usually came home after she was asleep. The house would be depressingly silent for a few weeks.

Suddenly, a creak from somewhere in the house made her yelp and jump three feet in the air. This wouldn't do. She had to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she went to front door, pulled on her shoes, and stepped outside. "Maybe a walk will help," she muttered, and locked the door behind her.

Sakura strode briskly along the sidewalk, her eyes trained on the sky above. The darkness up there was so complete, with only the moon and the sprinklings of stars breaking it. Well, it wasn't so scary anymore. But now, there was something else nagging at her. 

Loneliness. She wished someone was here walking next to her, smiling confidently at her. Walking faster, she tried not to think about being alone. What if there was some crazy ax murderer hiding in those bushes? Or worse, a ghost?? She rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps prickle at her skin. "Darn scary movies!" she said aloud, and she found that her voice trembled a little. 

Sakura suddenly found herself standing at the front door of a familiar-looking house. Why did it look so welcoming, as if it was calling her inside? Before she knew what was happening, her finger had pressed the doorbell. She snatched it back quickly, but it was too late. The door swung open.

"Sakura!" Yelan exclaimed, surprised. "Why, come in, dear!" Ushering her inside, she immediately offered her the couch and a plate of elegant sugar cookies. "You must be looking for Syaoran," she said, smiling. "He's in the shower at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be right out. Just wait a few minutes, make yourself at home. Would you like anything to drink?" 

"N-no thank you," Sakura said, a little overwhelmed at Yelan's motherly pleasantness. "I'll just wait for him. But thank you."

She looked around at the spacious rooms. This house had to be at least twice as big as her own. Wandering down the hall, she noticed that a door was partway open. The lights were on in that room, and she could hear the beat of music from the radio or CD player. Intrigued, she stepped inside and knew at once that this was Syaoran's room. 

It was huge. There was a TV with various video games and DVDs stacked next to it. A large rug sat in the middle of the floor, and on the other side of the room stood a long table with, among many other things, a flat-screen computer. Next to it was a tall bookcase filled from top to bottom with (what else?) books. This room was so neat and clean that she marveled at it. So unlike her own cluttered den. 

Sakura heard the door open and looked up. Syaoran's eyes stared back at her. His hair was wet and slightly dripping, falling in front of his eyes, and he was wearing nothing but a large towel around the middle. 

She quickly averted her eyes, blushing like a tomato. 

"Sakura," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You should've told me that you wanted into my room so badly." 

"S-shut up! It's not funny," she said. Her cheeks were surely on fire by now. 

Syaoran chuckled. "It's not that I mind you being in my room or anything, but you kinda caught me by surprise. Next time, let me know beforehand, hm?" 

"I'm sorry," she said, still frozen with embarrassment. Flitting to the opposite side of the room so he could dress, she spotted a pair of binoculars on the table. They reminded her of something...

"Hand me that shirt, would you, please?" Sakura blinked at him confusedly and saw that he was wearing jeans now. Her eyes fell on his bare, finely-muscled chest. She blushed deeply again, her heart pounding so loudly that it could probably be heard from all the way across the room. 

Coming to her side, Syaoran took the T-shirt that was slung across a chair and started to pull it on. "It was only a shirt, Sakura," he said, heaving a sigh of exasperation. She glanced at him with alarm. Was he annoyed with her? 

"I'm just kidding! Is something wrong, Sakura?"

Instead of answering, she ran a finger along the edge of the binocular lens. "I still have the one you gave me," she said thoughtfully.

"And you can still keep it," he replied, smiling at her. "That reminds me, we should go to this one great birding place I know. If you go early enough in the morning, you can see the hawks flying out from their night perches. And the sunrise is amazing." 

"I'd like to see that."

"Then I'll take you." 

She looked at him, searched his eyes, and caught a brief glimpse of something. Tenderness? Affection? No, couldn't be. She must have seen wrong. 

Looking away from him, Sakura saw a large cage that she hadn't noticed before. "What's that?" she asked.

Syaoran grinned. "My budgie," he explained, opening the door and reaching inside. His hand came out with a small green bird perched on it. Blinking its ebony eyes sleepily, the bird squawked softly, "Xiao Lang!" 

Laughing in delight, Sakura held out her hand and it jumped on. "Xiao Lang? Isn't that your name in Chinese?" she asked, marveling at the beauty of the little winged creature. 

"Yep. It means 'Little Wolf'. And his name is Xiao Ying, 'Little Hawk'." Syaoran said, peering over her shoulder at his bird. "C'mere, Ying!" 

"Shower?" squeaked Xiao Ying, scrambling up Sakura's arm towards Syaoran's face. 

She giggled, feeling the tiny feet tickle her shoulder. And then the little weight was gone, and she looked up in surprise. The bird was perched on top of Syaoran's head, busily chewing a strand of hair.   

"He's so cute!" she exclaimed. "Can you teach him to say my name?" 

"I'll try," he said, smiling at her. "He may be cute, but he's a little pooping machine. He poops about once every fifteen minutes." They laughed together at this statement, and Sakura relished the sound of his laugh. Syaoran looked so happy now, so different from his usual taciturn self at school. And he looked so cute with Xiao Ying. 

Her gaze wandered again to the window, and the stars beckoned to her to come outside. "Syaoran, let's take a walk," she said, feeling completely at ease now. 

"Just what I was about to suggest." He plucked Xiao Ying off his head and held him out to her. "Kiss him goodnight!" Giggling, she complied, giving him a quick peck on his little feathery head. "Aww...I think he's blushing," Syaoran said, winking at her as he let the bird back inside the cage. "Okay, let's go. Hey, we can go to that park now. Never been there at night, though."

As they left his room, Sakura was filled with some kind of unknown anticipation. She wasn't sure what it was yet, but she knew that something would be different by the time she went back home to sleep.          

***A/N**- Yay! More than 3,000 words, my longest chapter so far! T_T I'm so proud... 

Now tell me, do you like it? My goal is to reach 100 reviews soon! Please help! And don't forget my story, even though _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ is coming out on Saturday.. -_-;; 

Oh yea... THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for ALL the reviews, I loved them all!! T_T ßtears of joy... Please keep it up!!


	7. Closer

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Seven: Closer**

"Aaah... What a beautiful night!" Sakura stretched out her arms in a embrace of the cool darkness. This night was so perfect. Here she was, strolling along next to Syaoran under the stars, just the two of them. Could things possibly get any better? 

But then... As she stole a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed that the brown-haired boy had returned to his previous state of silence. Now the the budgie was gone, they didn't seem to have much to talk about. Syaoran was walking swiftly ahead of her and focusing his attention on anything but her. Eyeing him uncomfortably and somewhat resentfully, Sakura sped up her pace a bit. How could a person change so much in a matter of minutes? 

"Here we are," he said, and stopped so suddenly that she almost bumped right into him. 

"Oh, I've been to this park before!" Sakura exclaimed, following him onto the smoothly paved white path made even whiter by the moonlight. "This is where I stopped once or twice after school to rollerblade! People always walk their dogs here, or bring their kids to the playground. It's a great place."

"Hmm..." said Syaoran quietly. Reddening, Sakura wondered if maybe she had sounded too over-enthusiastic. Did he think she was talking too much?    

"Eriol told me that you always used to rollerblade to school," he said as they walked. "Why did you stop?"

"I didn't want to, I love rollerblading so much! But the wheels cracked," said Sakura sadly. 

"You should go get new ones then."

"But I'm broke, and my father is always so busy. I don't think I'll be able to anytime soon." She gave Syaoran a quick smile. "It doesn't matter very much. I can walk to school since it's so close. I just miss feeling the wind in my hair as I sail by-" Blushing, she stopped suddenly, wondering if she was rambling on again. His silence was unnerving.

They had reached the playground, which now looked cold and deserted without the usual shrieks of laughter and little running feet in the sand. Sakura paused awkwardly at the edge. "I haven't been on a playground since fifth grade," she laughed, turning to Syaoran. 

But he was already striding across the sand toward the swings. "C'mon," he smiled, settling in and patting the swing next to him. Trying hard to keep a wide grin from spreading across her face, Sakura lowered herself into the swing. 

"Do I make you feel uncomfortable, Sakura?" Syaoran asked at once. This time, his eyes were completely focused on hers as he swung lightly back and forth.

"Well, I-" She clutched the chains that supported her swing on both sides. "Yes. No! I don't know-" she faltered. "I just wish you'd turn back into that person I met over vacation." 

"Oh," he said simply. Then he kicked off from the ground so that his swing flew up high. "Are you sure you want him back?" he called, louder so she could hear from his height. 

"Sure I'm sure!" Sakura called back, frowning up at him. Why wasn't he taking her seriously? "I mean, don't you feel more free that way?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Syaoran said, swinging ever higher. "What could be more free than being silent as a ghost? You get lots of sleep that way!" Winking at her, he proceeded to snore mid-swing, letting out a particularly atrocious snort of surprise as he almost fell off.  

"You idiot!" Sakura laughed, her heart soaring. 

"I see how it is. You like someone you can insult as much as you like, is that it?" He skidded to a halt, spraying the sand under his shoes in different directions. Grabbing one of the chains of her swing, he pulled his face closer and fixed her with a mock glare. 

"W-w-what-?" Sakura trembled as he edged closer, leaning back until she too almost slipped out of the swing.

With a smirk, Syaoran gently tugged a strand of her auburn hair and swung back immediately to escape her retaliatory swipe. "What was that for??" she shouted, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and forcing him to stop. 

"Scary Sakura," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I was only retrieving this object from your lovely hair. The mesmerizing beauty of your maidenly locks withered any hope the poor thing had of looking pretty itself." He dramatically whipped out a small, pale cherry blossom and presented it to her with a bow.

"You're even worse than Eriol!" exclaimed Sakura, taking it. She made a face at him.

"What! You've got to be kidding! Unlike Eriol, _I_ actually have a brain!" 

"Quite brainless too, and certainly arrogant enough," she muttered under her breath, loudly enough for him to hear. 

"Hey!" Syaoran complained. "If you don't stop that, I'm gonna magically pull some more flowers out of your hair!"

Before she could stop herself, Sakura chuckled, "You're so cute like this." Then a cloud of heat swept across her cheeks as she realized what she had just said. 

Syaoran amusedly watched her blush for a moment, then turned his face to the sky. "So many stars out tonight," he commented, smiling. 

"Mmm," murmured Sakura, not quite trusting herself to open her mouth in case something else embarrassing popped out. 

"I think I feel like one of them sometimes. A star, I mean. Because they're so far away from everything else. Even though it looks like they're close to the stars around them, they're really zillions of miles apart." Syaoran's face became thoughtful as he went behind Sakura's swing. "Want me to push you?" he asked, his gaze softening as it fell on her. Sakura nodded. 

"Don't you think they get lonely up there, all by themselves?" she said to him as her swing sailed gently forward. When she swung back, Syaoran caught her for the tiniest fraction of a second. She could feel his warmth right next to her, and she shivered regretfully when the swing left his hold. 

"Of course they're lonely," agreed Syaoran. "Just sitting there in the cold, empty darkness, pondering and dreaming and waiting. Staring hungrily at the brightness of stars in the far distance-"

He caught Sakura again and held her long enough to whisper in her ear, "-but knowing it could take longer than a lifetime to ever be able to reach them..." 

"You should write poems," she smiled, twisting around to get a look at him. 

"I do," he replied, his eyes not leaving her brilliant green ones. 

Suddenly, Sakura had a heart-stopping urge to throw her arms around Syaoran. His once-spirited amber eyes were downcast and lonely, and he looked just like a lost little kid who was almost to the point of giving up hope. She blinked. Was this really Syaoran? 

Standing up with the swing between them, Sakura slipped a hand into his and squeezed it confidently. Syaoran looked up in surprise. "Do you need a hug?" she asked gently.

"How did you know?" He leaned close, and her slender arms reached out to pull him into an embrace. Her heart began to thud quickly as the realization of his closeness hit her. 

Stepping over the swing, Syaoran closed the final distance between them and lightly clasped her in his arms. Sakura's head spun when his brown hair touched her nose, and she closed her eyes to let everything else float away. This was a special kind of heaven in itself, just holding each other under the inky blankets of night. This was where she belonged, she was certain. 

Neither of them moved for a long moment. Then Sakura felt something pressing against her shoulder and finally pulled back. "What's this?" she said, digging out a black string that hung around Syaoran's neck. At first she thought that it was nothing but a cord, but a small white seashell dangling from the middle caught her eye. 

"Ah...that's just something of a good luck charm," said Syaoran sheepishly. "I've had it for years."

"Oh..." Sakura stared at the shell. There was something about it... something familiar... 

She closed her eyes, and the washing of the ocean tide assailed her ears. A flash of white sand... the running feet of a child... dark amber eyes... 

A wave of drowsiness washed over Sakura, and she found that she could barely keep her heavy eyelids open. "I think I'll sit down for a minute. I feel kinda tired," she murmured, yawning widely. Vaguely, blurrily, she felt Syaoran lead her to a wooden park bench, where she collapsed at once. The last thing she remembered was Syaoran's arm around her shoulder. She smiled sleepily and let her eyes close. 

Syaoran looked down at the girl who had fallen asleep against his chest. Bringing one hand up to brush aside some stray reddish-brown hair, he gazed deeply at her peaceful face. Something stirred inside him. 

Bending down, he lifted her small frame easily and began walking toward home. 

*****

_It was that dream again. She was a little girl once again, humming softly as she sat building a sand castle in the dark, wet sand. The salty waves licked at her feet, and gulls could be heard crying in the distant blue sky. _

_There was a roar, and a particularly huge wave began to roll onto the beach. She stared out at the ocean, transfixed with fright. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her away just in time for the waves to dash up and fiercely swallow her sand castle. _

_"How many times has that happened now?" said the person who had saved her. It was the little boy with amber eyes. His mouth turned up at the corners and his eyes crinkled at her. _

_"It's easier to build castles in wet sand!" she retorted, stomping her foot in childish impatience. "But the big scary waves always come and eat them up. It's not fair!" _

_The boy laughed. "You can build them in dry sand too, you know," he grinned. Without giving her a chance to ask "How?", he pulled her to where another sand castle stood further up on the beach. _

_"Wow..." the girl breathed, staring with round eyes at the magnificent thing. _

_"See, now it won't be melted every time the waves come in," the young boy informed her. _

_"Did you make this?"_

_The boy nodded, looking rather proud of himself. _

_"Wow!" she squealed. "Is this one going to stay here forever then?"_

_"No, of course not," he laughed. _

_"W-why not?" asked the girl, looking a bit confused. _

_"'Cuz nothing lasts forever." _

_"Yes they do!" she piped at once. "Daddy told me lots of things last forever! I asked him!"_

_"Oh yeah? Like what?" he shot back._

_"Well..." Wrinkling up her forehead, the little girl thought for a moment. "Like...like love."_

_"L-love?" said the boy uncertainly. _

_"Yup!" She smiled, cocking her head cutely to the side, and the ocean breeze tossed her auburn locks in the sparkling summer light.  _

*****

Sakura woke up in the morning to an unfamiliar ceiling. Groggily, she threw an arm out and clutched the soft blankets closer to her for security. Where was she? A squawk issued from the corner of the room, and she whipped her head around to look for the source. A birdcage.

She bolted upright in the large bed with a start. This was _Syaoran's_ room! She glanced around hurriedly, but he wasn't anywhere in the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, she quickly got out of bed and padded across the room to the door. 

As she walked across the hall, Sakura looked down and realized she was still wearing the same clothes from last night. So she had fallen asleep in the park... and then... "Oh my god!!" she yelped aloud. She'd been gone from home all night! What the heck was her dad going to think?? 

"Morning," said a cheerful Syaoran from the table. He beckoned to her, and she slipped into the seat next to him. "Mother's out shopping," he told her. "And breakfast is almost ready. Hope you don't mind eggs." 

"Eggs are fine," said Sakura, watching him as he went to the stove and checked on a pan. 

"After you fell asleep last night, I brought you here because I wasn't sure where your house was," said Syaoran from the kitchen. "Then Mother told me your dad doesn't come home until late. So she called and left him a message. We thought it was better to just let you rest."

"Thanks," she said, giving him a smile. "And thanks for letting me use your bed."

"No problem." He brought the pan over and tipped an egg into her plate, then one into his own. 

"Um...where did you sleep then?" she asked.  

"Couch," he grinned. "Quite comfy, you know. And I didn't, ah, _do _anything to you, if that's what you're worried about."

"No! I wasn't thinking that at all!" protested Sakura, blushing furiously at the thought. 

"Well then, eat up, and then I'll take you home."

"Oh, it's okay, I can walk home. It's so close." 

"I don't mind," said Syaoran. He caught her eye and smiled. 

"Oh yes, and before you leave..." He pulled out a large bag and presented it to her. "Open this when you get home." 

"No way! I couldn't take this!" 

"Take it!" ordered Syaoran, dropping the heavy bag into her hands. 

Clutching the plastic handles, she stared in curiousity. "What is it...?" she wondered aloud. 

"I'm sure you'll be able to guess." He winked and went back to his breakfast. 

*****

"Bye Dad!" called Sakura on Monday morning as she shouldered her backpack and pushed out the door on her brand new rollerblades. She couldn't wait to thank Syaoran again for his wondrous gift, this time in person. She had already called him twice on Sunday: once right after she opened the bag, and again a few moments later after she had tested the rollerblades out and found them perfect.  

It felt so wonderful to be able to fly across the sidewalks again, not having a care in the world- or even if she did, forgetting them all until she had to return to shoes again at school. But it would be different now. She and Syaoran would be able to talk to each other. Right?

***A/N**- A rather short chapter, I know. And sorry for the wait. I'm just a bit stuck right now.. Ideas, anyone? 

If you like this story, I would be VERY grateful if you'd take a glance at my earlier, shorter CCS story called "Dance With Me". It's not very hard, just go up and click on my name, go to my profile, and there you are! And there's a small scattering of other random stuff inside, if you're interested. 

Do give the hopeful amateur writer some inspiration! Review! ^__^


	8. Meilin's Lament

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

~**Chapter Eight: Meilin's Lament**

"Syaoran! Syaoran!" cried Sakura happily as she sailed closer to the entrance of school. In the distance, Syaoran stopped walking and turned around, smiling. Sakura's heart filled to the brim when he waved to her. Giddily, she pushed off and skated as fast as she could toward the waiting brown-haired figure, who was growing closer and closer by the second. Attempting to go even faster, she leaned forward. Wrong move.

Letting out a yelp of panic, Sakura flung out her arms to try and keep her balance. But it wouldn't work...she was going way too fast. She was going to crash... 

"Gotcha!" A hand caught her arm and confidently pulled her in until she slowed to a stop. Sakura's heart skipped a beat when she looked up into the smiling face of Keichii. He was so close, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from him... 

When Sakura realized that Keichii still hadn't let go of her, she blushed and looked down. "Thanks," she mumbled, and he finally dropped her arm, also looking a bit uncomfortable. When had this strange sort of tension developed between them? Up to now, everything had been normal. Until... 

Shaking her head to clear it of those confusing thoughts, Sakura flashed him a bright smile of thanks and continued on her original path. Impulsively, she threw her arms around Syaoran and cried, "Thank you so much for the rollerblades! I love them!" 

To her surprise, Syaoran returned her hug, squeezing her tightly and burying his face in her hair. "I can tell," he laughed, his voice sending pleasant chills down Sakura's spine. He was so close to her that she could feel the vibrations in his chest when he spoke. "Oh, and I was going to save you back there, but seems like Keichii got to you before me." His tone of voice was light, but Sakura could hear something else in it.

"Ohohohoho! Jealous, are you?" The two hurriedly pulled apart to see Tomoyo and Eriol standing nearby, grinning. 

"Tomoyo!" protested Sakura, leaning down to replace her rollerblades with sneakers. "C'mon, let's go to my locker. I've got to put these away." Grabbing her friend by the arm, she started off, but Tomoyo didn't budge. Eriol was holding onto her other arm with an expression Sakura had never seen before. Her eyes opened wide when she saw him quickly brush a soft kiss across Tomoyo's lips. "Bye," he whispered and went off to find Syaoran. 

Sakura stared speechlessly at Tomoyo. "You... He...?" she gestured hopelessly. 

Tomoyo nodded, blushing scarlet. "I guess we're...officially togethernow," she answered Sakura's unasked question, her dark eyes sparkling with merriment. 

"Oh Tomoyo! I'm so happy for you!" squealed Sakura, hugging her friend. "Of course, I never would have guessed it would be Eriol before, but now, you guys are just perfect together!"

"I know. Now that he's here, it's like that missing part of me has been filled," said Tomoyo with a dreamy sigh. "Oh, but what about you, Sakura? How're things going with Syaoran?" She winked. 

"Well, we're really good friends now. You saw, just a moment ago," said Sakura thoughtfully. Heaving up her rollerblades, she thrusted them into her messy, paper-filled locker and closed its door. 

Tomoyo smiled mischieviously. "I'd say that was a lot more than just being friendly back there. And did you hear what he said about Keichii?" 

"Yeah, but... Why would he be jealous of Keichii?" Sakura frowned in thought.

"Have you ever said anything to Syaoran about liking Keichii?" asked Tomoyo shrewdly.

Now that she thought about it, Sakura realized she had. Also, when the two of them had met up with Keichii and Meilin on their date, she had been too quiet and stiff for him not to notice. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, turning to her friend suddenly. "What if he does think that I like Keichii?" 

"Well, do you?" 

Tomoyo's question caught her by surprise. "He's a really good friend too," said Sakura slowly. "And I've known him for a long time...and he's a nice person..." 

"And he always seems to show up around you, have you noticed that?" Tomoyo cut in. "When you were hugging Syaoran a minute ago, he looked really pissed for some reason."

"What...? He did??" Sakura looked at Tomoyo in surprise. "But why?" 

"Sakura, you're so dense," laughed Tomoyo, shaking her head. "All I know is, you'd better choose one of them soon. Let's hurry up and get to class, we're gonna be late." 

Three lockers down, Meilin took in all this information. Slamming her locker shut with a satisfied smirk, she watched Sakura and Tomoyo walk away.  

*****

At lunch, Sakura was carrying her tray to where she and Tomoyo usually sat when she heard a soft sob from near the hallway. She stepped closer to see who was crying. There, crouched at the bottom of the stairs with her head buried in her arms, sat Meilin. Her shoulders shook, and she seemed to be trying to stifle her weeping. She looked so miserable by herself that Sakura hesitantly set down her lunch tray and went to Meilin's side. 

"Meilin? Are you okay?" she asked. The dark head snapped up at her voice. When she saw who it was, she threw her arms gratefully around Sakura, sobbing even harder. Sakura patted her back awkwardly, trying to comfort her. "What happened? Tell me, Meilin." 

When she still wasn't able to talk, Sakura asked, "Was it Keichii?" She was bewildered when Meilin nodded vigorously and finally looked up at her with tearful eyes. 

"W-we had a fight," she managed tremulously. "It wasn't even his f-fault...I guess I'm just not...g-good enough..." With that, she bursted into fresh tears again. 

"No, don't say that! You're good enough for anyone! No, better!" Sakura defended her at once. She couldn't stand to see Meilin so sad, even if she hadn't been exactly nice to her. Meilin had been her friend. And she still was her friend, Sakura decided. She wouldn't abandon her. "But what happened? I thought everything was going fine for you two."

"Hah! Everything wasn't _fine._ _I_ always had to be the one to start everything. I was the one to ask him out for the first date. When we talk at school, it's always like he wants to get away as fast as he can. I guess there never really was anything between us," she finished angrily.

Suddenly, Sakura felt a surge of relief, which she immediately beat down with a wave of guilt. How could she feel happy when Meilin was suffering like this? But this meant that the bond between Keichii and Meilin wasn't really that close after all!

As if reading her thoughts, Meilin said, "I think you're the one he's liked all along, Sakura." 

Sakura was speechless.

"I mean, he's always asking about you or saying random little things about you. And whenever he sees you, he always _has _to talk to you. It fits, it really does."

"N-no, it couldn't be," Sakura laughed nervously. Could it? "We're just good friends, that's all."

Meilin just shook her head sadly.

"He's the one who turned me down," said Sakura in a lower voice. "You remember that, don't you?" 

"I know," Meilin said, her eyes shining with understanding. Suddenly, it seemed like Sakura had gotten her old friend back. Meilin had been there for her. 

"But that was then," she continued. The tears had disappeared like magic. "Maybe he's changed the way he looks at you. Maybe he looks at you now and sees...something more than just a friend." 

"Do you think so...?" mused Sakura. Keichii. The one boy to whom her heart had belonged for almost three long years. The one who always made her laugh, who had always been there when she needed him. But then he had said no, and everything was different now. Now that Keichii was finally able to turn around and see her, could she really go back to him just like that? This feeling she felt for him now, was it still the same? But Meilin's next words made her forget about that almost completely.

"Sakura...I think I'm in love with Syaoran."

*****

"Where is she?" exclaimed Tomoyo in frustration. 

Eriol grinned lazily. "Maybe she got lost." 

"Yeah right! She got lost in her own school!" She gave Eriol a hard shove and made him fall off the table. "Do you know where she is?" she asked, turning to Syaoran. 

"No," he said simply, his mouth full. 

"Erghh... Where can she be? I'm gonna go find her!" Bursting up from her seat, Tomoyo started to circle around the school and scan for Sakura. Had the girl taken her advice and finally gone to make her choice? "Dumb Sakura! You'd better not be with Keichii when I find you!" she muttered under her breath. 

The two boys were trailing behind her. "Can't even take a joke, crazy woman," Eriol was grumbling as he stalked after her. Tomoyo immediately stopped in her tracks and whipped around to fix him with a piercing glare.

"What did you call me?" 

"Nothing," Eriol smiled sweetly. "Ow!" He clutched his foot in agony when Tomoyo decided to take a page out of Sakura's book. 

"Now I see why she likes to stomp her brother!" she laughed. 

They all came to a halt when she spotted Sakura sitting on the stairs with-

"Meilin?" Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. 

"Gotta go! Bye Sakura!" said Meilin. She walked off, giving Syaoran a cheerful wave. 

"What was that all about?" asked Eriol, coming up next to Tomoyo. She shrugged, equally clueless. Her eyes fell on Sakura, who was still sitting frozen on the stairs. There was something odd in her expression, and when Tomoyo called her name, she looked up at them with a start as though she had just realized they were there. 

"Syaoran, I need to talk to you," she said. 

Tomoyo stared after them wordlessly as they left. 

"This doesn't look good," murmured Eriol. 

*****

Sakura's heart pounded dully in her chest, clamoring like a rusty cowbell that was sure to fall apart after a few more rings. What Meilin had said to her was too much to handle alone. She needed some consolation, some hope that there was still order in the world. Flopping down on an empty bench, she stared at the brown, cracking leaves beneath her feet.  

"What's wrong, Sakura?" 

Taking a deep, she focused her eyes on his. She searched the amber depths and found such strength, assurance, and gentle warmth that she found it difficult to keep going. This moment was something she wanted to preserve forever, just being next to him peacefully and being shrouded in his healing aura. When he took her hand, she didn't feel nervous or even uncomfortable at all. The only comprehensible thing she could make out right now in her nebulous tangle of emotion was the desire to stay close to him, to be with him. 

"I'm just kinda confused right now," said Sakura in an oddly strangled voice that sounded not at all like her own. "I don't know what to do. This is so silly, isn't it?" 

"Sakura." Syaoran kneeled down in front of her so that their faces were level, his eyes never leaving hers. Slowly, he reached out a hand and touched her cheek. Sakura closed her eyes, leaning slightly toward his touch. He was close enough that she could easily reach out and hug him if she wanted. But instead, she waited; their noses were inches apart.

"I want you to know that you can always tell me anything," he whispered. "And I'll always be there, as long as you need me. Don't be afraid to let me know. I'm right here."   

"Thank you," murmured Sakura. So close now...if she leaned forward just a little bit, then...

Meilin's words echoed in her mind. 

_"I think I'm in love with Syaoran."_

Feeling as though a knife was tearing a gash into her heart, Sakura pulled back. A second later, the bell rang and Tomoyo's voice called out, "Sakura!" at the same time. 

"I'll wait for you after school," said Syaoran.

"Okay," Sakura said, and she managed a weak smile. "See you then." Though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she let go of his hand and walked over to where Tomoyo was waiting. 

"What did you want to talk about with him? And what did Meilin say?" she asked at once. 

"Nothing, and I'll tell you later," replied Sakura wearily. Tomoyo opened her mouth, but closed it again when she saw the troubled look on her friend's face. They walked silently to their next class, each pondering their own thoughts. 

Sakura was flipping restlessly through the history chapter she was supposed to be reading when something bounced off the back of her head. Glancing around, she spotted a small wad of paper on the ground and scooped it up quickly. A note.

_Stay away from Syaoran, or he'll know before school ends today that he's not the only man in your life. _

Sakura snorted. She really couldn't take it anymore. The nerve of those Yumiko girls! How stupid could they get? Threatening her, no less! Did they really think that Syaoran would pay any attention to them? 

Holding the note in plain view, she scrunched it up into a tiny ball and let it fall to the ground. There, that ought to get the message across. She didn't care if those girls did go to Syaoran; she knew he wouldn't listen to a word they say.

Syaoran was waiting for her right outside her last class of the day. See, he didn't listen to them, Sakura reassured herself. Without even realizing it, she had been extremely tensed while waiting for school to end, a growing doubt expanding larger and larger inside her with each passing minute. But now, she thought with relief, it would be okay. She had nothing to worry about. 

Several minutes passed before she realized it was unnaturally quiet. "Where's Tomoyo and Eriol?" she inquired.

"Eriol had a test he wanted to finish, and Tomoyo must be with him. They said we could go ahead and leave if we wanted. Do you want to?" 

"Umm...I'd rather wait for them," said Sakura. 

"All right." 

Sakura turned to look at Syaoran. He had so little to say now, it felt weird standing next to him so silently again after what he had said to her at lunch. He looked to be thinking deeply about something. Had something happened? A bubble of dread rose up in her stomach.

"Sakura, are you sure you're completely over Keichii?" asked Syaoran quietly.

"I knew it!" she flared up at once, glaring into his eyes filled with surprise. "How could you believe that horrible Yumiko girl? I thought you knew she was full of crap!"

"Calm down, it's only a question. No use getting so worked up over it," he said in a maddeningly calm voice. "It's just that- well, the first night when we met, you described him in such detail."

"Because I've known him for years!" retorted Sakura.

"And that afternoon when we met him and Meilin at the food court, you didn't say a word until he left. You didn't look very happy to have them sit with us."

"I-!" she began, but she realized that she had nothing to counter this with. Her head throbbed painfully. Was she really having this conversation with Syaoran? Or was it just a nightmare? She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very drained and dizzy. 

"Look Sakura, I don't want there to be any doubt between us." 

"You make it sound like I'm your _girlfriend_ or something," she spat. "I thought you didn't make any friends. No wonder, they probably just couldn't stand you. Why don't you hurry up and move again so you can _forget _and _move on_?"

Horrified at the awful words that had just escaped, Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes met his, and for a fleeting instant she saw the shock and hurt in them. The shock and hurt that she had caused. 

She knew at once that she had made a mistake.  

***A/N- **Wow, I can't believe all the reviews I received this time! Thank you to ALL of you for your support and ideas! Especially those who wracked their brains for ideas (silver_dragon, your idea isn't bad. I might use it in some form yet! And thanks for reading my other story!)  You've all inspired me beyond measure, with each and every comment. Thanks! ^_^


	9. Confession

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

~**Chapter Nine: Confession**

For a long, torturous moment, time stood still as Sakura's last words rang loudly in her ears. What had she done? What evil demon had possessed her to make her utter such vile words to Syaoran? To _Syaoran_... The impact of what she had said hit her over and over again like a dark, stormy wave. Quivering, she looked at him.

His head was bowed so that she couldn't see his eyes. His fists were clenched shut and trembling ever so slightly at his sides. He had gone so terribly quiet that Sakura cringed, but remorse overrode her fear as she stepped forward.

"I...I didn't mean-" she began helplessly.

Syaoran took a step back, turning his head to the side so he wouldn't have to look at her. Then, in one swift motion, he whipped around and walked silently away. 

"No, Syaoran! Wait! Please- I'm so sorry-" Sakura cried out despairingly, but she knew it would be no use. He was already out of earshot, and no matter how many times she said she was sorry, it wouldn't repair the damage that had been done. _Dammit Sakura, you're such an idiot! _she fiercely scolded herself. _What in the world were you thinking? No, that's it; you **weren't **thinking. _

Sinking to the ground, Sakura clutched her pounding head in her hands. If only Syaoran had shot something back at her, if only he had replied with something. Anything. Anything would have been better than that deafening silence that let her know exactly how deeply her words had hit him. 

To her surprise, she felt a wetness at her eyes, which she scrubbed away quickly with the back of her hand. What right did she had to cry now? If anyone did, it would be Syaoran. All this hated self-regret wouldn't help her one little bit. She had to go catch up with Syaoran. Had to apologize, even if he wouldn't listen. Had to try with all her might to make him see that what had come bursting out of her mouth was the last thing she had wanted to say. 

But she was so afraid, so hopelessly lost and confused. 

_Just go talk to him, and everything will be all right, _she convinced herself firmly.

"Okay," whispered Sakura. "But first...just for a moment...just to compose myself..."

A fat teardrop rolled down her face, a salty river trailing after it. She let it flow freely for a few seconds, not caring much who saw. Then she buried her face in her hands and tried to dry as much of it as she could. But by doing so, she reminded herself what she was crying for, and more tears kept coming. _Great, how am I going to get rid of all this now? _

She felt a hand touch her shoulder. Whirling around, she began, "Syaoran, I'm sorry-!" Her tear-glistening eyes opened wide when she realized it wasn't Syaoran at all. 

*****

"Too bad they left already," said Tomoyo, frowning as she sat next to Eriol in the backseat of the car. "I wonder if everything is okay between them?" 

"Don't worry, they probably just wanted some time to be alone," replied Eriol, though he didn't look convinced. Sneaking a look at the perplexed Tomoyo, he decided to risk draping his arm lightly over her shoulder in comfort. He was delighted when Tomoyo, apparently lost in thought and not paying much attention, inched closer and carelessly snuggled against him. 

"Ah, heaven!" Eriol sang out. He gave her a passionate squeeze. 

"Hey!" complained Tomoyo, laughing and half-heartedly trying to get away at the same time. Abruptly, her laughter stopped and her eyes were glued to the window. "It's Syaoran!" she cried. 

"James, stop the car please," ordered Eriol at once. The driver complied, and Tomoyo flew out of the car. "Wish she would greet _me_ with such enthusiasm," Eriol muttered. Turning to the driver, he said, "Thanks, and I'll call again later if I need you." He stepped off quickly after Tomoyo.

"What's up, Syaoran?" called Eriol. 

No reply. Syaoran simply walked right past them without a glance. 

"Why isn't Sakura with you? What is it- Syaoran, are you hearing a word I'm saying?" Racing up to him, Tomoyo grabbed him by the arm. Finally, the brown-haired boy turned around with a dark expression frozen on his face. 

"Leave me alone," he said tonelessly. 

"No!" said Tomoyo. "Not until you tell us what's going on. Sakura's our friend too, you know. We want to know what's happening. Spill!" 

Syaoran laughed bitterly. "Fine. You want to know what your _friend_ did? I asked her a question about Keichii and she practically exploded. She said..." He closed his eyes against the pain it caused him to recall their conversation. He could hear every word as clearly as though Sakura was shouting it into his ear right this second.

_"Why don't you hurry up and move again so you can forget and move on?"_

"No way! She couldn't have said that!" gasped Tomoyo. 

"Well, she did." With that, Syaoran turned on his heel to head off down the street. But before he could, Eriol caught him by the arm.

"Wait a minute. That makes no sense at all," he said. "Sakura wouldn't just go around saying things like that for no reason. And especially not to _you_, of all people."

"What are you talking about? Let go of me!" snapped Syaoran.

Ignoring him, Eriol continued, "Maybe this has something to do with what Meilin was telling her at lunch-"

"That's IT!" exclaimed Tomoyo loudly, so that both boys turned to stare at her in surprise. "It's gotta be Meilin, always trying to mess with Sakura's life. I'll bet you anything that she fed some horrible lies to Sakura, and she was too compassionate not to believe her. Ooh, I'm gonna KILL her!" 

Digging around in her bag, Tomoyo retrieved a cell phone and snapped it open. "I only said maybe..." Eriol trailed off. "You have her cell number?" Tomoyo violently mouthed "Shhhhh!!" at him, and he obeyed meekly. 

"Meilin? It's Tomoyo. We need to talk... WHAT! SHOPPING! I WOULDN'T CARE IF YOU WERE SHOPPING IN PARIS! WE NEED TO GET A FEW THINGS STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW!!" 

Wincing, Eriol put a hand to his ear, but Syaoran looked mildly interested. "What's she saying?" he asked. 

"Here I'll put it on speaker," replied Tomoyo, pressing a button. 

Immediately, they all heard Meilin's voice saying, "-do you want to know? You'd better make it quick."

"What did you say to Sakura today?" Tomoyo demanded.

"Why?" asked Meilin suspiciously.

"She blew up at Syaoran and they had a big fight! Now tell me, quick!" 

"Oh she did?" Her voice sounded amused. "Then I guess she really took that little comment to heart!"

"What little comment? Tell me now, Meilin, I'm warning you!"

"Nothing important, really. Just that Keichii really seems to like her now, some hints like that. You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Meilin's voice had taken on an edge of stoniness. 

"And what else?" prodded Tomoyo, shooting a glance at Syaoran. His fist was clenched tightly, and he was glaring resentfully at the voice coming from the phone. 

"Well," she said slyly. "I told her that I've fallen for Syaoran." 

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Syaoran roared, making a grab for the phone. Tomoyo dodged out of his grasp. 

"Hey, chill," said Eriol, smiling at the outburst of his usually quiet friend. Syaoran looked slightly abashed and calmed down, though he was still staring at the phone as though it was a particularly venomous snake. 

"S-Syaoran?" Meilin stuttered on the other end. "Tomoyo, is that Syaoran?" 

"Yes it is, and he just heard everything you said, so you just hurry up and explain yourself!" ordered Tomoyo triumphantly. 

"Syaoran, I'm sorry, I really am-" Her voice seemed to break into cracking sobs. "-It's just that Sakura's getting all the attention now, and I never really had a chance with Keichii from the beginning. Anyone can plainly see that there's only one girl on his mind... And why he still wants her, I don't know. I mean, he's the one who completely rejected her before. Maybe because she's just so _good _and _smart_... And then Syaoran came and she had to take him right away without giving any of us a chance-"

"Sakura didn't _take_ anybody! I'm the one who fell for _her_!" shouted Syaoran. 

There was silence as everyone turned to gape at him. 

Eriol was the first to break the quietness. "Congratulations, my friend," he announced, clapping a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "It's official now."

"What's official?" muttered Syaoran gruffly, going redder than a sunburnt tomato. "Oh no, shut up-" 

"You got it you got it bad..." Eriol crooned, batting his eyes at Syaoran. Tomoyo covered her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. 

"Okay- Hello? Remember me?" came Meilin's voice, sounding annoyed. "Anyway, I know what I did was wrong, because obviously it didn't work." There was a pause, and she added hastily, "AND I know Sakura didn't deserve it. All she was trying to do was help me. Happy? Oh, and no offense to Syaoran, but I don't really like him. I...I like someone else." 

"Keichii?" Tomoyo asked softly. 

Meilin didn't say anything for a long while, and Tomoyo gave the two guys a knowing look. 

"All right, whatever. Don't you need to go fix things with your Cherry Blossom girl now?" 

"Oh, that's right!" exclaimed Tomoyo. "Thanks for reminding me, bye!" She flipped the cell phone shut. "Stop looking all clueless, Syaoran! We've got to go work things out between you and Sakura, of course! Is she still back at school?" 

"Yeah, but- No, wait! I can't-!" 

"Let's _go_! She's going to apologize, and then you two are going to make up and live happily ever after..." She went into a momentous sparkly-eyed mode, during which Eriol rolled his eyes. 

"Hurry, we've got to catch her before she leaves. I'll call the car," he said quickly. 

"What are you, stupid? The school's about five steps away!" retorted Tomoyo, yanking Syaoran off his feet and taking off down the sidewalk. 

"More than five steps..." Eriol mumbled to the air with a hurt expression on his face. "H-hey! Wait for me!" 

*****

"Keichii..." whispered Sakura, staring up at the familiar face. "What are you doing here?" 

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I was just passing by and I heard everything," confessed Keichii. He looked down at his hands awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "I just... Are you okay?" 

What a stupid question, she thought immediately. Why did he bother to say that, when he could see perfectly well that she _wasn't _okay? What, were the tears on her face invisible? 

"Yeah, I'm fine," lied Sakura. She swiftly tried to wipe the wetness away. Suddenly, a white kleenex was thrust in front of her eyes. Blinking in surprise, she took the tissue gratefully and blew her nose. 

"I always carry a pocket pack, just in case," Keichii smiled. 

"Thanks," she said uncertainly. She couldn't deal with this now. The thought of Syaoran tugged urgently at her mind, yet she was still standing here. "Well, I've gotta go-" began Sakura, just as Keichii said, "So you and Syaoran-" 

They both stopped. "Go ahead," said Sakura wearily. 

"So you and Syaoran are going out?" he asked, reddening. 

She couldn't believe it. Of all the questions. "If you already heard the whole thing-!" she said exasperatedly. Taking a couple of deep, shuddery breaths, she tried again. "No we aren't, but..." The look of immense relief on Keichii's face made Sakura stop. "Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

"Well, um, things haven't been going very well for Meilin and me lately. I've been thinking about breaking up with her," he admitted. 

Oh no. Not this. This was what Sakura had feared he would bring up. Heart pounding out an unsteady rhythm, she casted fleeting glances about her, hoping to spot a quick exit somewhere. 

"And, um, I was hoping we could..." 

_Oh god, he's going to ask me out! _She had to stop this at all costs. _Syaoran..._

"No!" blurted Sakura quickly. "You...you can't break up with Meilin!"

For a moment, Keichii was surprised. Then he smiled. "I know, she's your good friend right? You don't want me to hurt her. I'm sorry, but right now, it's not gonna work..." He lowered his head quickly, but she saw his blush just the same. Sakura closed her eyes and groaned mentally. If only he had said these things to her a different time. Maybe even two months ago. How many months had she wished for him to think of her as more than just a great tennis partner, more than just a best friend?

"Sakura..." Keichii stepped closer and tentatively placed his hands on her arms. "I..."

*****

"Hurry up, Eriol! Now where is she?" Tomoyo peered over the small, broken trickling of students who were just leaving school. 

"Should be around here somewhere..." muttered Syaoran. "Oh..." 

"There she is. SAKU-!" she started to call out, but Eriol pulled her back. "What are you doing??"  

"Look, she's in the middle of something," Eriol indicated patiently. Sure enough, Sakura was standing extremely close to Keichii, and he was staring right into her eyes.

"My god, I can't believe she's doing this," whispered Tomoyo. 

They watched, frozen, as Keichii leaned closer...closer...his lips were on a direct path to Sakura's...  

A sudden movement made Tomoyo and Eriol turn. Syaoran had jumped up and was racing away from the school as fast as humanly possible. 

*****    

"I..." Keichii leaned down, his face mere inches away from her wide emerald eyes, her trembling lips-

-she could tell exactly what he intended to do, and he was NOT going to steal her first kiss-

"NO!" bellowed Sakura, throwing her arms out and shoving him away from her as hard as she could. Keichii landed on the ground and stayed there, paralyzed, staring up at her in shock. _Just wonderful...another guy I've hurt today, _thought Sakura. 

Heaving a sigh, she reached down and helped him up. "I'm sorry, Keichii. I know what you're going to say, and I have to tell you that I don't feel the same." She had never felt more sure of anything in her life. Confidently, Sakura looked him in the eye. "Things have changed. _I've_ changed. We'll always be good friends, but right now, there's only one person that I know I couldn't live without. And that person is..."

She smiled and said the name with all the meaning in her heart. The word slipped so easily and comfortably from her tongue, felt so warm and beautiful coming from her own voice, that she knew it was right. 

"Syaoran."   

"Wonderfully touching speech there, Sakura, absolutely moving-" 

"Shut up, Eriol! Oh Sakura, if only Syaoran had been there to hear you say that-"

"What? Why are you two here?" asked Sakura, looking from Tomoyo to Eriol in confusion. 

"We were taking Syaoran back here so you could apologize for what you said!" cried Tomoyo, wringing her hands in frustration. "But- How could you try to kiss her, Keichii, you idiot!!" She shot him a deathly glare. 

"But why... Where is he?" Sakura demanded urgently. 

"Gone," replied Eriol. "He took off running, just before you pushed Keichii away."

***A/N- **WAAAH! I reached 200 reviews! I can't believe it!!  O.O   T_T

First of all, a HUGE thank you to the reviewers of Chapter 8!! ::takes deep breath:: 

kelly, Spell Eater, Skylover, Midnight_moon, Soul Reaver, *Innocent kisses*, Shorti-chan, SweetCherryBlossom, T-man, SweetBabyGurl, silver_dragon, katana-chan, bunny angel, MimiGhost, BabyWolfGurl, (someone who didn't write his/her name..but thanks anyway! ^_^), Sparta, MEME, Anime Queen, Time Warp, midnight-moon-88, Miryah, Evil Jealousy, D a r k n e s s in H e a r t, EcuaGirl, T_T s+s YES! melin screw her (er, interesting sn), Xiao Mei, bestwishes, sKeWeD, helen, Chico0221, Mr Roboto, d, CardPrincess, lilcherrywolf, Meilin Baby 13, Always Dreaming, Sakura Song, AnimeObsessionFantasy, starquestor, HyPeR_ChErRyBlOsSoM, Mini Sweety, dilly-sammas luver, sally, sitachixter, and Winged Guardian! Whew! ^_^

~Special thanks to: MEME and sitachixter for reviewing "Dance With Me" ! :-D

~And to: sKeWeD, BabyWolfGurl, and Always Dreaming for putting me on their Favorite Authors lists! And also, thanks to all who put "Spilling Stars" and/or "Dance With Me" on their Favorite Stories lists! 

You guys are the BEST! Thank you just for taking the time to read and tell me what you think. Each review uplifted my spirits infinitely (so my soul is still dancing up there in the stars somewhere ^_^)  I read every single one since I get them by email first, and it feels unbelievable to see about 15 new emails when I open my mail... Anyway, please keep it up, and I look forward to seeing your comments again for this chapter and many more to come!

*To Mini Sweety, regarding a request to change what Sakura said to Syaoran in the last chapter (and to anyone else who may be wondering why Sakura would suddenly turn so mean _) : As a learning writer, I can't always make certain parts of the story or certain pieces of dialogue fit exactly right, though I do try my best! But if it truly bothers you, just think: Hasn't there been a day where you just feel crummy as heck, and when you open your mouth, out pops something completely wrong and unlike yourself? I'm sure we've all felt "out of character" days; I, for one, have many. Or it could have just been my current writing mood at the time; I wanted Sakura to be more human. Thank you for reading, and I'm very happy that you care about S+S's relationship so much; just keep reading to the end and you shall be rewarded! ^_^


	10. Misunderstanding

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Ten: Misunderstanding**

_This was all a mistake_, thought Syaoran as the world whipped past him. _I shouldn't have let myself become so weak...shouldn't have let my guard down like this...shouldn't have, shouldn't have, shouldn't have... _

His feet slapped heavily against the sidewalk, each step barely touching ground before skimming across to the next. Why had he asked to come to this public school, where this one green-eyed girl had broken down all his defenses and almost made him _change_ himself, for God's sake? And he had almost liked it, liked being whatever happily surfaced in his emotions and expressing it all as he wished, instead of locking it behind cold iron gates as he had done all his life. He had opened the floodgates for her. Something he had never done for anyone else. 

And she had left him stranded.

Closing his eyes against the glaringly harsh sunlight which had been warm and welcoming just a moment before, Syaoran fled from that thought. _Sakura...and Keichii..._ He had seen them together often enough. Everyone knew they had been close friends for years. So how could he have expected her to just give up on Keichii so easily? She and Keichii had something that he didn't: a past. How could he hope to compete?

Syaoran found with surprise that he was already standing at his front door. Cautiously, he stepped inside and noted with relief that his mother wasn't home. Perfect. Random pain-splitting thoughts were racing back and forth through his mind as though they were in a top-speed blender. If he didn't want to be left with a mushy smoothie for a brain, he had to think and sort things out quickly. 

In his comforting room, Syaoran immediately flopped onto his back on the bed and took several slow, deep breaths. Organizing was something he was good at. All those martial arts lessons when he was younger had paid off; he was good at concealing everything with a cool exterior and leaving the confusion, the scrambled thoughts for when he had the time to rearrange them. But right now...

Why had Sakura suddenly changed so fast? After all that had happened between them... Maybe she was simply doing the same thing Syaoran had done in the beginning, being warm and close to her during that vacation, then acting cold and distant when they met again at school. 

Why had he done this? Why, why? Syaoran rubbed his eyes tiredly. Maybe he should've just ignored her back on that trail, like he usually would have...

But that night, he had felt so alone in the world, even more so than usual. When he was alone, it was okay to be himself. The appearance of Sakura had caught him by surprise, and at first he just watched her, ready to move off in the opposite direction if he needed to. But she...she had looked so different from those other girls who had constantly pestered him at his past schools. He could tell at once that she wasn't one who cried often. She was a fighter, and she didn't give up easily. She had no problem expressing her feelings, almost the exact opposite of him. 

And seeing the girl with such a defeated look made a part of Syaoran want to reach out and comfort her. What was he to lose? He'd probably never see this girl again. So he did, and had found that she was definitely different.

He did want to see her again. And when he found his wish granted so quickly, it was overwhelming. He hadn't known how to react, and it was too difficult to let his true emotions go right away. 

So had his coldness driven her away? 

But everything had been perfect. For about two days, at least. So why...why...

"Why do you have to turn to Keichii now?" whispered Syaoran to the ceiling. 

Automatically, his hand went to the shell hanging around his neck. He had worn this for as long as he could remember. In times of the greatest stress, he found that for some reason, the pale shell always gave him strength. 

As Syaoran clutched the shell, something between a dream and a memory washed over his mind...

*****

_"What are you doing?" _

_He blinked and found himself drowning into wide emerald eyes. With a deep tomato blush, the little boy bolted up in the warm sand and avoided her inquisitive gaze. "I-I was taking a nap," he muttered. _

_"You shouldn't take a nap on the beach, you'll get a sunburn," the young girl giggled. She leaned close to peer at his red face, which only made him blush harder. "Daddy said if you don't drink lots of water, you'll get de-dehid-"_

_"Dehydrated?" he offered. _

_The girl nodded brightly, her auburn hair bouncing. "So that's why I got you a drink!" she smiled, holding out a cold cup with ice cubes floating inside. "Do you like lemonade?" she asked anxiously._

_Deciding that nothing comprehensible would come out if he opened his mouth, the boy just nodded his head vigorously. Looking delighted, she handed him the cup and plopped down next to him with her own drink. As she sat, a little pile of tiny paper stars spilled out of her pocket. The little boy quickly scooped them up and held them out to her with a trembling hand. _

_"Oh, my stars!" she exclaimed. "Well...do you want them? I can make a lot more later."_

_"Okay," whispered the boy, his heart jumping. He cupped his treasure carefully in his hands, not daring to believe his luck. _

_"Do you want to learn how to make them?" She pulled a thin strip of paper from her pocket and set to work. "See, you fold it like this...and then like this...and you tuck it in here...and then pinch the sides...and there!" She dropped the new star into the collection he already held. "Here, you try!" _

_Piling the stars carefully near his feet, the little boy took a paper strip and struggled to fold it in the way she had instructed. Finally, he managed to mush the sides using a little too much strength. The end result was a squished up wad of paper, not at all resembling the neat little stars the girl had created._

_Angry and embarrassed, he tossed it away. Why couldn't his star be as good as hers? Now maybe she wouldn't be his friend anymore, after seeing how bad he was. He closed his eyes tight, waiting for her to laugh. _

_Instead, he felt small arms encircling his shoulders gently, and his eyes popped open in shock. "Don't be sad," murmured the auburn-haired girl. "Just keep trying, and you'll get it, I know you will. When I first made a star, it didn't look very good either."_

_Warmth flooded his body, and he clumsily hugged her back. Painstakingly, he reached down to pick up every single star she had given him. _

_"Hey, wanna come eat lunch with me?" she asked suddenly. "My dad's a really good cook!" _

_The little boy smiled gratefully. "Okay." Grinning happily in return, the girl began to skip ahead of him._

_ "Wait!" he called quickly. She stopped and turned, puzzled._

_"Th-thank you," he stammered, finally able to look her in the face.  _

_To his utter amazement, she swiftly leaned in and kissed his cheek, her hair brushing his face. Before the poor guy had a chance to blush himself to death, his angel giggled and took him by the hand, pulling him along after her. _

*****

"Ugh," groaned Syaoran, rolling over on his side to stare at the clock. Five minutes. He had wasted five minutes dwelling on some childish daydream or memory, he couldn't really tell which. And the worst thing was, that little girl bore an uncanny resemblance to Sakura. 

Sakura. Why couldn't he get his mind off her? Flashes of her smiling face and her warmth next to him attacked his senses, but he shook them away distractedly. It was time to get serious. Sakura had finally found her love; he should be happy for her. 

"Happy for her?" Syaoran leaped up and buried his face in his hands. "Happy for her?? Are you crazy? How can you can be happy for her?" 

"Xiao Lang!" squeaked the budgie, hearing Syaoran's familiar voice. The bird scrambled back and forth on its lower wooden perch, lunging torward the wire door, clearly saying "Let me out!" With a smile, Syaoran complied and allowed the bird to jump onto his shoulder. There, the bundle of feathers nipped his ear affectionately, ruffled once, and started to preen busily. 

Syaoran smiled. "I can't...I can't just let go of her so easily. She's all I can think about. Her name keeps echoing in my mind... Sakura..." He prodded the budgie's beak lightly with a finger. "What do you think, Ying?"

"Sakura!" he squawked in his garbled, birdy voice. 

"Aww no....you're no help," moaned Syaoran, setting Ying down on the cage top. He then paced the room restlessly, biting his lip. "What to do...what to do... How could you do this to me, Sakura?" A wispy tendril of pain crept into his chest and began to squeeze at his heart. No. This was getting him nowhere. Think of something else.

The first thought that exploded into his mind was "I want to move!" Yes, then he wouldn't have to see her, he could close himself off, and everything would be just peachy. But...wasn't that a little extreme, and cowardly at that? It'd look as though he was running away. Besides, Mother would never let them move somewhere else so soon after they had come here. No, what he needed was a break from all this tension, so he could recollect himself. You're becoming weak, he told himself. Not good.

Decision settled, Syaoran flung open his closet, pulled out a small suitcase, and began tossing in T-shirts and socks. After all the essentials, he added some birding equipment and notebooks. There would be no need to bring much else; it would only be a few days. And he could buy anything else. There was plenty of money in his account, and he had some spare cash to boot. 

He double-checked to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, then hastily scribbled a note to his mother. She would probably be calling his cell phone to make sure he was all right. He didn't want her to worry.

With a grunt, Syaoran lifted his suitcase out into the kitchen and slapped the note on the refrigerator where she couldn't miss it. He picked up the phone and began dialing for a car to drive him to the airport.

*****

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Sakura gripped Eriol's arm tightly, her fist trembling. "He...oh god, he must've gotten the wrong idea!" Hair flying as she whipped around to face him, wide-eyed, she shook him. "Where'd he go?" she asked. "Did he tell you where he was going?" 

Eriol shook his head, wincing, "Ah, can you let go of my arm? It's going numb." 

"Sorry." She hurriedly took her hand off his arm. "Look, we have to catch him! I've already messed things up once today, and to have it happen again... Syaoran must think that I hate him now!" 

At once, Tomoyo became businesslike. "Don't worry, Sakura, we'll find him," she said confidently. "Okay, where do you think is the most likely place to find Syaoran after school?" 

"Umm...home... Oh, and he might be at the park!" exclaimed Sakura suddenly. "Let's go check there!" 

"All right then, Sakura and I will go to the park. _You_-" Tomoyo gestured to Keichii, and he came forward uncertainly. "This is partly your fault too, so go and see if he's still on the campus anywhere. Give us a ring right away if you spot him, got it?" Keichii nodded and set off quickly. 

"And Eriol, you-"

"I'll call for the car and search for him on the road, it's faster that way," he replied, turning on his phone without a moment's hesitation. "Hello. Yes, it's me. I'm at the school right now... All right. Thank you." Turning to Tomoyo and Sakura, he smiled. "He said he'll be here right away."

"Thank you so much for helping me, you guys," said Sakura gratefully. But Tomoyo was already pushing her out of the school as fast as she could. 

"No time for that, you can thank us later," she said. "Now where's that park?"

*****

Out of breath, Sakura collapsed onto an empty swing where she and Syaoran had been just a few nights before. "He's not here..." she whispered, clutching the metal chains on either side of her. She was vaguely aware that some of the kids on the playground were staring at her. Probably wondering what someone her age would be doing here. 

"Sakura, where do you want to go now?" asked Tomoyo, agitatedly flipping a long lock of dark hair over her shoulder. "We can't give up already."

"You're right," replied Sakura, getting up at once. "I'm far from giving up. I won't give up until I find him and set things right again! C'mon, let's go to his house! He's gotta be there!"

*****

They arrived near Syaoran's house a few minutes later. A taxi was parked in front of it, and someone was loading a suitcase into the trunk. As they came closer, the figure turned.

Sakura's heart pounded loudly in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. It was him. She opened her mouth to call his name, but all that came out was a faint, barely-audible whisper, "Syaoran." His amber eyes held hers evenly for what seemed like an eternity, while a million silent words passed between them. Why? his eyes were asking her. Why?

He turned away. 

"No, Syaoran! Wait!" cried Sakura, breaking out of the trance. He was stepping into the car. Saying something to the driver. 

"Please, don't! Just listen to me!" She wasn't sure if he was hearing her or not, but she didn't care. All that mattered was whether he stayed...

Or...

The taxi pulled out onto the street and was moving away. Away from Sakura. 

She stared after him numbly, glimpsing his shadow in the back window. Picking up speed now, rolling too far away to hear her even if she screamed his name. Her heart raced desperately after the car, after the boy seated inside, while her body remained standing on the sidewalk. 

_Gone..._

Another car flashed by close to her and she barely noticed. 

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice was pulling her back. "Look, that's Eriol's car. Don't worry, he'll catch Syaoran and bring him back! I know it!" 

Indeed, Eriol stuck his head out the window and yelled, "I got it!" He gave them a thumbs up before the car disappeared into the distance. 

The sight gave Sakura a bit of hope.

*****

Syaoran sat on one of those ugly, gray plastic chairs they always seem to have whenever you're waiting for something. His flight would be here any moment now. He checked his pass again nervously. At least his suitcase was small enough to be a carry-on. He didn't want any confusion or delay after he got off. 

Running a hand through his hair, Syaoran heaved a deep sigh. He hadn't expected to see Sakura again right before he left. That had been....hard, to say the least. But he had made his decision, and he always stuck to his decisions. 

It had been best not to say goodbye. Less painful that way. And he didn't want to hear anything about Keichii. She would surely have gotten all apologetic and sappy. 

Syaoran didn't want her sympathy. 

"Flight 479 departing..." he heard the announcement. Bolting up from the stiff seat immediately, he shouldered his pack and started off to the passageway where passengers were already lining up. The sooner he got out of here, the better. 

After the attendant checked his pass and let him through, Syaoran felt a surge of giddiness. Being all by himself for a while...it would be just what he needed. A fleeting wave of guilt washed over him; he hoped his grades wouldn't suffer too much. Oh well, he could catch up when he got back.

He was almost to the door which led into the plane when a shout caught his attention, and he turned around. 

"Yo, Syaoran! Wait!" 

Eriol. Coming to be Sakura's messenger, no doubt. He continued walking, and Eriol's voice became fainter. 

"Syaoran, she didn't kiss him! There's nothing between her and Keichii!" 

"Hurry sir, the flight's about to leave," urged an attendant. Syaoran nodded and stepped into the passage. 

"Dude, the only person she really likes is you! Now come back here!" came Eriol's voice, sounding very faint. 

Block it, block it, thought Syaoran. His face frozen expressionlessly, the brown-haired boy finally entered the plane and lugged his suitcase to the seat he was assigned. Window seat. Yay! Stuffing his luggage into the compartment above, he settled comfortably into his seat and stared outside. 

It wasn't until several minutes later, when a flight attendant began to announce procedures for the flight, that Syaoran finally comprehended what Eriol had been trying to say. 

_She didn't kiss him....nothing between her and Keichii....only person she really likes is..._

Suddenly, he leaped up in his seat and smacked his head painfully on the carry-on compartment. "I've gotta go back!" he blurted, struggling his way back down the plane. Several people gaped at him. 

"What's this, sir?" asked a confused attendant. "You...you want to get off? I'm sorry, but that isn't possible. We're getting ready to take off now. You should get back to your seat." 

"B-but...Sakura..." he spluttered. 

"NOOO! LET ME OFF THIS PLANE!!"  

***A/N- **I want to thank everyone for their fantastic reviews, you've made me so happy! ^___^  Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I was having a bit of writer's block. It's over now, hopefully. -_-;;  The story's getting interesting! And you'll see the connection to those "dream" beach scenes soon. Aren't they cute? They're so fun to write! ^_^ Anyway, please keep up your wonderful reviews! The next chapter will be out in no time! Oh yes, and if you'd like me to email you when I update, please tell me so in your review. Thanks!   


	11. Ending the Wait

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Eleven: Ending the Wait**

In her cluttered room, Sakura paced back and forth agitatedly. This eternally long wait was killing her. It had almost been an hour; why wasn't Eriol back yet? Biting her lip, Sakura paced some more, throwing hopeful glances out the window every few seconds. 

"Sakura, will you stop? You're making me dizzy!" exclaimed an exasperated Tomoyo, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, reviewing her sheet music for choir. "Once Eriol finds Syaoran, he'll bring him straight back here. Calm down, okay?" 

With a sigh, Sakura nodded and slumped into a chair. There was a pile of homework waiting for her, but she hadn't even unpacked all the assignments from her backpack yet. How could she concentrate on anything right now, when the image of Syaoran's face was burned into her mind? She could still see his wistful amber eyes staring back at her reproachfully...

The doorbell rang loudly, breaking the stuffy silence. Sakura's heart leaped, and she flew to the front door in a flash. For a moment, it seemed like her hand wasn't working properly, because she couldn't get the door open fast enough. But then it was thrown wide, and standing there in the afternoon light was...

Eriol. Just Eriol. Silently, Sakura pleaded his eyes, asking him the question. But Eriol shook his head slowly as he stepped into the house. No... Her heart sank lower than she ever thought capable. Behind her, Tomoyo put a hand on her arm. 

Lowering himself heavily onto the sofa, Eriol removed his glasses and wiped them gingerly on his shirt. "I followed him all the way to the airport. It was quite a chase, I tell ya. Almost lost him about ten times. Then right before he left, I managed to shout out the truth: that there wasn't anything between you and Keichii. I'm pretty sure he heard me." 

"And?" asked Sakura, almost trembling, though she already knew what he was going to say. 

Eriol sighed. "He just kept going like he couldn't hear a word. Didn't even look at me. And then he...he got on the plane."

Sakura sank slowly into a nearby chair, trying simultaneously to clear her mind and think hard. So Syaoran really was gone. What if...what if he never came back? He had moved a lot, right? It wouldn't be so crazy now for him to take off and go to some school across the country, or even move back to Hong Kong. Who knew where he might be heading... _But she couldn't let him get away..._

"No," Sakura breathed. "I've got to find out where he's going. I've got to find him. This is all my fault, anyway. And his mom...she'll probably be worried out of her mind to find him missing when she gets home. I have to find him." 

"Sakura," murmured Tomoyo worriedly. 

"Where can he be?" Sakura whispered hopelessly. She hated to show this side of her to Tomoyo and Eriol, but it was too hard to repress her worries and her fears from them now. She needed help. 

She needed Syaoran.

"Oh, Sakura." Tomoyo quickly pulled her friend into a hug. "Look, since he's already on the plane, you can't really do much right now. Why don't you try to go on with your day normally, get some things done-"

"Talk to his mother," Eriol spoke up. "Maybe she'll have some idea of where he's going. That would be a start." 

"That's right," said Tomoyo. "Meanwhile... Oh, I know he's very important to you, and he's a great person and all, but... Well, just don't let your life be taken over by a guy, okay Sakura? It's not worth it. It's also his fault for just going off like that. If he chooses not to appreciate you for the beautiful, wonderful person you are, then it's his loss." 

"Th-thanks, Tomoyo," said Sakura in a muffled voice. She smiled, and her eyes sparkled brightly with tears. "You too, Eriol. Thanks...for caring about me so much. You really are great friends." 

"Aw, shucks," Eriol beamed, pretending to blush. Tomoyo just smiled back and gave Sakura one last hug. 

*****

_Ring ring. Ring ring._

"Hello?" 

Sakura breathed a brief sigh of relief under her breath. Finally. She had called Syaoran's house so many times that she'd lost count, and finally, finally someone had picked up. 

"Hello, this is Sakura Kinomoto," she said nervously, clutching the phone close to her ear.

"Oh, Sakura! How nice to hear from you, dear. Is anything the matter?" 

"Um...yes." Sakura was a little disconcerted by Yelan's tone, as though nothing were wrong. Was it possible that she hadn't even noticed her son was gone? "Well," she continued in as casual a voice as she could manage. "Do you happen to know where Syaoran went?" 

"Oh yes, I know where he went. I'm surprised he hasn't gone sooner, it's been so long," Yelan chuckled.

"W-what?" choked Sakura, completely confused at these words. 

"You see, Syaoran has never had too many close friends because of our frequent moves. I think the pressure gets to him... When he's feeling particularly stressful, he'll occasionally take a few days off in solitude to pursue his own activities: hiking, martial arts, sword training, and lately he's taken up birdwatching."

"Oh..." said Sakura. Even hearing someone talk about him made her heart race.  

"It does him good to be alone for a while, even though I used to worry. I know Syaoran can take care of himself. But I still wished that he had more people his own age to be around. I was overjoyed that afternoon when you, Tomoyo, and Eriol came home with him. That must have been the first time he's ever brought friends to the house!" Yelan exclaimed with a laugh. 

"Wow," Sakura murmured, quietly digesting this information. Her heart went out to Syaoran as she began to see some things from his point of view.     

"I'm glad that you're such good friends with him, Sakura dear," the older woman said. "I can't be certain, but in these last few days, I think he's changed somehow. He's more cheerful, more eager to go to school... I think he's finally opening up. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see that smile on his face!" 

Sakura's heart thundered loudly in her ears. _I feel the same. When he smiles, I could almost explode with happiness. _"It makes me happy too," she whispered into the phone. Then she felt a pang of guilt. Yelan didn't know that Sakura was the one who had driven her son to leave. Ironically, she was praising her, _thanking _her. 

As though reading Sakura's mind, Yelan mused, "I wonder why he suddenly left, then? Hmm..." Sakura could almost see her frowning in thought. She opened her mouth to say something, then quickly clamped it shut again. She didn't have the heart to tell her whose fault it was. 

"Mrs. Li, c-could you please tell me where Syaoran went?" asked Sakura, trying to keep her voice steady. 

"Oh..." Yelan's voice sounded troubled. "In the note he left to me, it said that I shouldn't tell anyone where he went..." 

"Please, you have to tell me!" Sakura bursted desperately. "It's because of me that he left. I...made a mistake, and there was a misunderstanding. I have to apologize to him. Please!"

There was a surprised silence on the other end of the phone. "I...see..." said Yelan finally. "Well, if it's like that, then all right. I'll tell you."

"Thank you!" cried Sakura happily. She listened carefully and jotted down the exact address and phone number that Yelan told her, along with some other information she provided. 

"This is one of his favorite retreats, so I'm not sure how he'll feel about someone discovering it," Yelan said uncomfortably. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go after him. Just call, that should be enough." 

Sakura took a deep breath. "I'll try calling him. But I can't promise that I won't go after him." 

A pause. Then soft laughter. "You know, I think you're just what Syaoran needs," she chuckled. Her words were tinged with admiration. "Just keep after him, all right?"

Nodding even though it couldn't possibly be seen through the phone, Sakura replied, "I will. Thank you, Mrs. Li." 

"Good luck, Sakura."

*****

Tiredly, Sakura picked up the phone for the seventh time. Even before she dialed, she was sure no one would pick up yet again. Maybe she was being too irrational... Syaoran probably wasn't even there yet. But Sakura had already finished her homework, distractedly tried to clean her room, doodled messy manga faces of boys that looked suspiciously similar to Syaoran, and idly flipped through the TV channels before deciding there was nothing of interest and hitting the off button. All this, and six phone calls in between. No answer. And there hadn't even been an answering machine... What kind of primitive cave was he living in??

She was trying to calm herself and think logically when the door clicked open. 

"I'm home!" called Fujitaka, closing the door behind him.

"Dad, you're home early!" Sakura exclaimed, hurrying to give him a hug. She was pleasantly surprised at his appearance. Now she could discuss with him what she'd been turning over and over in her mind for the past three hours. 

"Yep, we just got a new student teacher, so I get a break from those night classes for a few days," her father smiled. "What do you say? Want me to make dinner tonight?" 

"Yes!!" she squealed, fairly bouncing up and down with excitement. In her opinion, Fujitaka's cooking was the best in the whole world. She was also relieved; she hadn't been looking forward to cooking much today, after everything that happened. All at once, her good spirits plummeted as her mind turned to Syaoran again.

"So how was your day?" called Fujitaka from the kitchen, and Sakura heard the sound of the refrigerator opening. With a soft sigh, she trudged to the dining table and pulled out a seat, cupping her chin in her hands and training her eyes on the polished golden-brown wood grain. The color reminded her of Syaoran's eyes. She shifted her view and stared at the wall instead. 

"Well, actually, I was hoping to ask you something." 

"Ask away," her father cheerfully replied, rinsing some greens in the sink. 

Sakura hesitated, then decided it was best to get to the point quickly. "It's about Syaoran," she began slowly.

Fujitaka turned to her, his eyebrows raised.

"We kinda had an argument, and it was mostly, if not all, my fault. And then he...misinterpreted something that he saw," said Sakura with a slight blush, not wanting to go into details. She looked at her father, who was nodding, taking it in. 

"And he went on an airplane by himself and he's kind of...taking a break, I guess. I talked to Yelan, and she says that this is normal for him and everything, but I know it's because I've hurt him that he left. He's a really important friend to me, and we were just getting to know each other well and then this happens... So I want to go find him and apologize," she said in a rush.    

There was a brief silence in which Sakura's words echoed loudly inside her mind. _Please, please let him say yes, _she begged silently. 

Laying down the knife he had been using to slice mushrooms, Fujitaka wiped his hands on a towel and quickly came over to his daughter, focusing his full attention on her. "I can understand your urgency," he said, frowning slightly. "But couldn't you just call him, or wait until he comes back?" 

"I've tried calling him!" said Sakura earnestly. "But no one picks up, and he might be camping outside or something. Yelan says he does that a lot. And besides, what if...what if he won't listen to me? What if he just hangs up?" All her worries came pouring out like a waterfall. "If I see him in person, then I can show him how truly sorry I am. I really don't want him to think the wrong thing. And about waiting, what if he decides something before he returns? It would be too late! And I know that if someone did something wrong to me, I'd want them to apologize as soon as possible."

She took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm just afraid that he'll never come back," she confessed quietly. "I don't want to lose him." 

"Hmm..." said Fujitaka. Sakura looked up into her father's serious face, but she saw his eyes twinkling and instantly relaxed. "Where is this place Syaoran went off to, then?" he asked. 

"Oh, it's a private summer lodge of theirs, and it's not far from that cabin we lived in, so it shouldn't be hard to find. Yelan gave me the address and everything. Please, oh please Daddy, we have to go! Please!" She gave him her best pleading look.

"All right, all right," he said, laughing. "I could use a day or two's vacation, anyway."

"Yay! Thank you so much!" cried Sakura, flinging her arms around him. 

"Wait." Her father halted her enthusiastic celebration with a stern look. "What about school? We can't have you missing class just for this."

But Sakura was already prepared for this. "Well, Syaoran is missing class too, so it's a good thing if we bring him back," she said righteously. "Besides, Tomoyo and Eriol can help me catch up on any assignments or lessons I miss. I mean, look Dad, I haven't missed a single day of school since, what, fourth grade? Even when I was sick! And my grades are fine right now, so two days won't hurt!" 

"Except for my math grade," she muttered quickly under her breath. Then, in her normal voice, "Please? Pleeeeaaaaassse??"

"Fine!" Fujitaka relented, shaking his head. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this, Sakura. Maybe you should become a lawyer someday." 

Sakura wasn't listening; she was doing a happy victory dance next to the table. 

"Hey, don't get your hopes up, young lady. Just because I agreed doesn't mean we're setting off tonight. I still have a few day classes to teach tomorrow and Wednesday, so the soonest I can promise you is Thursday morning. If there isn't too much traffic, I'll drive you there before noon. And that's my final decision, no buts, ands, ifs, or ors," he finished with a smile as Sakura opened her mouth to protest.   

"Okay!" grinned Sakura, giving him a grateful squeeze. "Thanks Dad, I really appreciate this."

*****

"All right, this is it," Syaoran said from the backseat of yet another taxi. Gripping his bag firmly, he handed the driver some bills and stepped out of the car. As it pulled away down the road behind him, Syaoran heaved a weary sigh. The sky was already darkening, and all he wanted was to put down this heavy bag and flop down on something soft. He'd had quite a time instructing the taxi driver on where to go, probably because there was very little traffic around this cabin. He liked it this way. Nice and quiet and isolated.

Briskly, Syaoran walked the short path to the front door and put his hand on the knob. Locked. He had a momentary flash of panic before remembering that he'd packed the keys in his bag somewhere. Shaking his head at his foolishness, he rummaged around, dug them out, and unlocked the door, which swung open with a creak.

What's wrong with me? he thought as he entered the house and began flipping on all the lights. I've done this plenty of times. No need to freak out. 

Faintly wondering how long it would take to get some food delivered here, he plopped down on the couch and massaged his forehead. Shouldn't he be on a return flight right now? As soon as he'd gotten off the plane, he had wanted to run right back in and buy another ticket. But for some reason, it just felt too impulsive and sudden for him... He felt tired, and his private lodge buried in the wilderness was calling to him. So he decided to come and at least spend the night. 

Besides... Doubt began to trickle into Syaoran's mind again, and he ran his hands through already messy brown hair. It wasn't good to let his emotions control him, like he'd done back on the plane; that was dangerous and completely unlike him. Besides, could he really take Eriol's word, just like that? So maybe Sakura and Keichii hadn't kissed, but they'd looked awfully intimate and comfortable together. 

All at once, something cold and firey reared up in Syaoran's chest, almost knocking the breath out of him. It really, really bothered him, the thought of Sakura and that guy. He couldn't stand it. 

He found himself truly wanting to believe what Eriol had said. _"The only person she really likes is you!" _ Was it possible? Yes, he decided it was. There was just something he felt, being around Sakura, that he had never felt anywhere else. And they had come so close to kissing...he ached with the memory of it. That couldn't have been by accident. 

"Ugh...I'll go crazy if I don't sort this out," Syaoran mumbled to himself. He absently pulled out one of his favorite pairs of binoculars and ran a finger along the water-resistant exterior. Was this the pair Sakura had touched back in his room? 

Maybe if he went birdwatching for a while, he'd be able to think clearly and decide what to do. Yes, birdwatching...birds...

Suddenly, as he stood up, an idea struck him. "Yes, I've got it!" he exclaimed excitedly. Didn't he once offer to take Sakura to see the hawks? Now, he had the perfect chance.      

*****

When Sakura got home from school the following afternoon, all she could think was, "One more day!" She wandered by the phone, debating whether or not she should try calling Syaoran again. After all, she was going to see him on Thursday. 

Noticing that there was a message, she pressed the message retrieval button. _Beep._

_"Hello? Sakura, hey. This is Syaoran." _

She bolted to attention immediately, her heart racing at the familiar sound of his voice. 

_"I just called to ask if you could, um, come over here? I know it sounds kind of silly, but there's something I'd like to show you. I'm having a plane ticket sent to you, and it should arrive sometime today. The address of where I'm staying should come with the ticket. And don't worry about the cost, I've paid for everything. I hope you can come as soon as you receive the ticket. Tonight, if possible."_

There was a pause, and Sakura strained her ears intently.

_"And...don't worry about trying to call me. I'll just wait for you, and if you don't come, then I'll know. I'll understand. Just...try, okay?"_

"Syaoran..." she whispered. 

_"Bye, Sakura." _The message ended, and she quickly pressed the "save" button. Tonight. Her hand fairly trembled with excitement; she could hardly believe her luck. Syaoran had asked for her...maybe he wasn't too mad at her then... 

She hadn't even thought to check the mail when she came home. Making her way outside as fast as she could, Sakura pulled open the mailbox. True to his word, there sat a large white envelope addressed to Sakura Kinomoto, from Syaoran Li.

"Dad, please!" Sakura was calling him at his university office. "C'mon, he already sent me the ticket, you have to let me go!" 

"Sakura honey..." Fujitaka sighed. "Then I won't be able to come with you; I still have work tomorrow too. And I want to know that you'll be safe. I can't let you go alone." 

Sakura thought quickly. "I know! What if Tomoyo and Eriol come with me? Then I won't be alone, and you won't have to worry! Would that be okay? Please say yes!!" she begged. 

"I...suppose..." he began hesitantly. "But would they really be willing to go with you, and on such short notice?" 

"Oh don't worry, they will!" said Sakura at once, a little too confidently. She wasn't really_ that _sure that they would, but she had to try. "I'll call them right away!" 

Almost two hours later of phone calls, rushed packing, and sitting nervously in Eriol's car, the three of them arrived at the airport. "Thanks again, you guys," Sakura managed to smile as she stumbled after Tomoyo toward the departure gate, a bit bewildered by how fast the afternoon was moving. 

"It doesn't matter, since Mother is away on a business trip," said Tomoyo comfortingly. "And I don't think she'd mind too much if she knew. We're used to traveling at the last minute." 

"Since I haven't seen my parents in almost a year, I should say it's fine with me," Eriol grinned, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "I could always do with a bit of adventure. Hey, it's a break from school, isn't it? Who wouldn't like that? And as for the price of these tickets, I'll be charging you with interest as soon as we return." 

"Oh no you won't!" Tomoyo cried as they entered the plane. "I think you have enough money already, Hiiragizawa! What do you live in, some fancy mansion or something?" 

"You'll just have to come to my house and see for yourself, won't you?" replied Eriol, giving her a wink. 

Sakura's happiness that her friends were accompanying her abruptly fled. Watching them flirt with each other like this... Would she ever be that close with Syaoran again? Even though they were here on this plane for _her_, she still felt overwhelmingly left out and alone. Slowly, she struggled down the aisle of the plane to her reserved seat, trying to cheer herself up with the thought that she'd be meeting Syaoran soon. 

"Sakura, are you sure you're all right sitting by yourself?" called Tomoyo from her seat next to Eriol. 

"Yeah, I'm fine!" she forced on a smile. They were only about two rows up, anyway. Not that far. And it was going to be a short flight, so what was she worrying about? Everything would be just fine...

Heaving her bag onto the empty seat next to her, Sakura opened it and took out the first thing her hand touched: the binoculars Syaoran had given her. 

*****

It was almost completely dark outside now, and still Sakura wasn't here. What was taking her so long?? Syaoran checked again to make sure the dinner he'd cooked almost an hour ago was securely covered. The food was getting cold now, and if she didn't arrive soon he'd have to refrigerate it. That was a shame, since he hadn't touched a single dish yet. 

Shouldn't she be here by now? Had something happened to the plane, the car? A horrible accident? _Okay, now you're getting paranoid, _Syaoran admonished himself. Perhaps Sakura's father hadn't allowed her to come. Or maybe she had simply chosen not to come to him. 

_Why? Have you really chosen Keichii then? _thought Syaoran frantically. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, making his heart take a huge leap. He crossed to the door in a few long strides and threw it open. There, framed in the darkness of night and looking very relieved, stood the emerald-eyed girl he had been awaiting for ages. 

***A/N – **Yay, finally they see each other again! But what will happen? o.O  Thank you to all who reviewed!! I'm happy beyond words to know you like my story. I'm sorry that I'm not able to acknowledge each and every one of you here, because it would take quite a while! I'd like to do it again in a later chapter, however. For now, just know that my extreme gratitude is with you, and please continue to give me your valued opinions!

Thanks, and review! ^_^


	12. Starry Night

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Twelve: Starry Night**

"Hi Syaoran," said Sakura, cheeks flushed pink from the cool night temperature outside. "Sorry we're late. Our taxi driver had a little trouble finding this place. He said he doesn't usually come out this far into the woods, and it was dark, so..."

"The fellow nearly cheated me out of all my spare cash!" Eriol exclaimed. Pushing his way past Sakura and into the warmth of the cabin, he set their bags down next to the sofa and rounded on Syaoran. "So, how's it been?" he asked. "Got any food? I'm starved!" 

"Y-yeah...dinner's on the table," muttered Syaoran, vaguely waving a hand in the direction of the dining room. He was frowning very concentratedly at the carpet, and his eyes kept flitting halfway to Sakura and back down again. 

With a meaningful glance at Sakura, Tomoyo followed Eriol into the house and left the two standing alone. Sakura was still standing in the open door, both hands clutching her bag, silently drinking in the image of Syaoran standing in front of her. She couldn't get enough of it; his rough hair, his serious expression, every perfect feature of his standing out to her...

_Those brown eyes..._

His eyes came up to meet her, and she was instantly locked in a swirl of dizzy light, a private world all their own suspended only in each other's eyes. Sakura felt closer to him than she had in days, despite the fact that they were still standing apart by several feet. She had never known exactly how much she'd missed him until now, and being here, seeing him, was like... 

_Like being able to breathe again_, she thought fuzzily. 

"Well, are you coming in?" Syaoran finally said. Sakura nodded slowly and shut the door, not taking her eyes away from him in case this wondrous connection would be severed. He couldn't stop looking at her either. His eyes poured out a thousand words, and she opened her heart to let them fly in. 

Abruptly, their space returned to real time. Leaning forward, Syaoran took the heavy bag from Sakura's grasp and hoisted it easily over his shoulder. "Where would you like this? I could take it to one of the bedrooms for you, if you want," he offered. 

"Oh, you can just leave it with those for now," said Sakura, indicating the bags where Eriol had left them. 

"Whatever you wish." Syaoran dropped her bag there with a soft thump and started to the dining table, but he came to a halt when he realized Sakura was still frozen in place behind him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Whatever you wish," she said softly, smiling at him. "You said that to me the first time we met, remember?" 

"I...did?" 

Sakura gave him a disappointed look. "Don't you remember? I asked you if I could use your shoulder, and you said..."

"...whatever you wish," finished Syaoran, his eyes flashing in recognition. A kind of faint half-smile appeared on his face. To Sakura's confusion, he turned around quickly and she was left staring at his back. 

"You must be hungry after that long trip," he said. "Come on, the food's getting cold." 

"Oh..." This completely wasn't the kind of welcome Sakura had been expecting. She'd been waiting for so long to see him again, and all he said to her was this? Well...what _had _she really been expecting? For Syaoran to come running into her arms with a wide smile and all of a sudden forgive her for everything? 

"Syaoran!" she said suddenly, scrambling across the room to keep up with his fast pace. "I hope you don't mind that Tomoyo and Eriol are here too. My dad was worried and wouldn't let me come alone. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier." 

"It's fine," replied Syaoran. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're here." He flashed her a rare smile, and everything was right in the world again. 

Tomoyo and Eriol were already seated next to each other at the table when they got there. Sakura immediately took the chair nearest to Tomoyo and realized with a racing heart that Syaoran was sitting on her other side. Coincidence? Sneaking a look at his face, she found the lightest trace of a blush. 

"Wow, this food looks wonderful!" said Tomoyo, scanning the dishes eagerly. "Can we start yet, Syaoran?" 

"Sure. Go ahead." Syaoran picked half-heartedly at a few things and started on his rice, looking positively distracted. On the other hand, Eriol dumped large helpings of almost everything onto his plate and began shoveling it into his mouth with relish. 

"Mmm mmm! Dish shtuff ish ekshalent! Whish reshtaurant didya get it from?" Eriol inquired with his mouth packed.

Glaring at him, Tomoyo remarked, "Nice manners, you pig!" Eriol gave her a pained look and swallowed.

"Actually..." said Syaoran, poking around in his bowl with chopsticks. "I made it myself." 

"Really!" Tomoyo gasped. "Wow, Syaoran, I never knew you were such a good cook! Maybe you could give a few tips to this useless lump here-" She prodded Eriol on the arm, who made a face at her in return. 

Thoughtfully, Sakura chewed the savory food in her mouth. For some reason, she had already known that Syaoran was the one who had cooked all this. It just didn't look like restaurant food to her. Had he cooked it just for her? No, she couldn't think that, he probably made dinner for himself every night. But it was such delicious food that it might even be able to rival her father's. Still, she couldn't really get much down, for there was a jittery feeling in her stomach that just wouldn't let up. Oh well. She wasn't really that hungry anyway. 

This wasn't going as well as Sakura had thought it might. She and Syaoran still weren't saying a word to each other. What was wrong here? It was hard to match the cheerfulness of her other two friends sitting at the table, and she didn't feel like putting on a false happy face. 

She was supposed to do what she had come all the way here for: to apologize to Syaoran. An urgent bubble was rising inside her, ready to burst out of her mouth in a torrent of explanation, but she forced it down. She wanted to tell him so much that she didn't think she could stand to wait any longer. But...was this really the right time? If only they had some silence... For once, Sakura found herself wishing that Tomoyo and Eriol weren't here right now. 

"All right, who's going to wash the dishes?" asked Tomoyo, heaving a sigh of satisfaction. 

"Don't worry about those. You can just leave them in sink for now." Getting up from his seat, Syaoran started to carry dishes into the kitchen. The others helped, and in no time the table was sparkling clean. 

"What now?" said Sakura. 

"Well, I was planning a sort of camp out night...since...well..." Syaoran lowered his voice to a mutter, and Sakura had to lean close to hear his words. "Since you didn't get to stay with me that night we met. But you wanted to sleep out under the stars, right?" he said in a rush. His face was turning a curious rose color, but Sakura didn't notice; her mind was racing excitedly. 

"You want to take me out there? And camp out?" she asked, her voice rising in contrast to Syaoran's quietness. 

He glanced at her quickly and said, "If you don't want to, it's all right with me. I just wanted to suggest the idea and see if you-" 

"What are you talking about?? It's great! I can't wait to go!" cried Sakura happily, and before she knew what she was doing, the girl threw her arms around Syaoran as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "Thank you," she murmured, pressing a smile into his shoulder. 

It was then that her eyes popped open and she realized where she was. 

In Syaoran's arms.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered dazedly, pulling back a little so that they ended up looking directly at each other. "I...I didn't mean to jump on you..." 

"It's okay," said Syaoran with a soft smile that tugged at her heartstrings. He still wasn't pulling away. Maybe they could just stay like this forever, close together and surrounded by each other's warmth, and no one would ever notice...

Eriol cleared his throat loudly, reminding them that they had spectators. Blushing a deep scarlet, Syaoran used this interruption as an excuse to speak again, "Um, you two can come too, I'll go get the stuff and see if there are some extra sleeping bags..." He quickly disappeared into a back room, leaving a dreamy Sakura with Tomoyo and Eriol. 

"Wow Sakura, you really do like him," Tomoyo commented with a grin. 

"Hmm.... What? No, Tomoyo, not so loud!" protested Sakura nervously, shooting looks in the direction Syaoran had headed off to. "I didn't even get to tell him anything yet!"

"All right, all right, calm down," said Tomoyo, while Eriol smirked. Before he had the chance to remark, Syaoran came back with an armful of stuffed backpacks. 

"Sorry, we don't have enough sleeping bags for all four of us," he said apologetically.

"No problem, Eriol and I'll just stay here tonight!" Tomoyo said at once. "You two go on. We'll be fine. Right, Eriol?" She poked him in the side with an elbow. 

"Yep, we'll be just perfect here!" Eriol agreed quickly. "Don't worry about us. We can...um...wash those dishes! Yeah! So go ahead, have a good time!" 

"Are you sure, you guys?" asked Sakura. 

"Yes!" Tomoyo reassured her. Leaning toward her, the dark-haired girl whispered into Sakura's ear, "Now's your chance!" 

Syaoran glanced at her. "Is that okay with you, Sakura?" She nodded. "All right then, let's go now. Oh, I have all the supplies, but is there anything you want to bring?"

"Mmm..." she thought carefully for a moment. "Not really... Oh wait! I know!" Diving for her bag near the sofa, she unzipped the top and pulled out the treasured binoculars. "Will there be any birds?" she asked. Syaoran nodded, not taking his shining eyes off the binoculars. She knew he'd be glad to see it again, since it represented something irreplacable that had been shared between them.

Wordlessly, Sakura took the backpack that Syaoran handed her and stepped quickly after him into the fresh night air. Eriol and Tomoyo followed them to the door to see them off. "Have fun!" Eriol called after them, wearing a rather large grin. "Don't get into too much trouble! Don't do anything naughty-" He was cut off by Tomoyo brutally shoving him out of the way. 

"Bye Sakura! See you tomorrow!" Tomoyo's voice faded into the distance, and Sakura waved to her before turning around to follow Syaoran into the woods.

The sky was clear tonight, not a cloud in sight to obstruct the view of the heavenly bodies above. A soft breeze ruffled Sakura's hair, carrying with it the scent of pines and the earthy ground layered with leaves. As they walked along briskly, she heard a deep hooting from somewhere in the dark trees. 

"Syaoran?" she said, meaning to ask him about it. "Syaoran! Would you slow down? Why are you going so fast!?" She caught up with him and clung tightly to his arm, resolving not to let him get so far ahead. 

"Sorry," said Syaoran. "I just want to make sure we get to the right place." 

"Well, you still don't need to go that fast," Sakura muttered grudgingly. "What if you lose me and I never find my way out of here?"

He laughed and pulled her closer, confidently. "Don't worry, you'll never get lost while I'm here. Even if you did, I'd be able to find you no matter where you are. We're still on the Li property, after all."

"Are you saying that this whole place is yours? The cabin, these woods, everything?" she exclaimed.

"Not all of the woods, no," he replied. "We just own this small section that's surrounding the cabin. There are a few places that have an excellent view overlooking the big forest. I'm trying to find a nice spot near one of those for tonight, so when the sun comes up tomorrow..." His smile was clearly visible even in the dark, and Sakura couldn't help smiling along. 

"Ah, here it is!" They stopped suddenly, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Syaoran set down his backpack and began to unroll his sleeping bag, and Sakura did the same. 

"How do you know that this is the place?" she asked as she cleared a large branch from her sleeping spot. 

"Oh, I just...know." Syaoran pointed to a clean place covered with soft grass that was next to his sleeping bag, and she brought her bag over. "I recognize this tree. And the bend in the trail over there. It's not that hard for me." 

"You've really spent a lot of time out here, huh?" 

"Mmm hmm, I come here every summer. And just whenever I feel like it. This is one of my favorite places."

"I know, your mom told me." Immediately, Sakura wished she hadn't said that. 

"You talked to my mom?" he said, staring at her.

"That day you left... I called her because I wanted to know where you were going," said Sakura quietly. Sitting down on her cushy sleeping bag, she drew her knees up close to her body and wrapped her arms around them. 

"Oh. I hope she didn't bore you too much. I'm guessing she told you not to worry, that I do this all the time?" He laid himself down on his back and stared at the sky. 

"Yeah, something like that. She said that you know how to use a sword. I want to see that!" 

"Left the swords at home," Syaoran murmured disinterestedly. "Besides, they're a pain at the airport luggage checks. Weapons, you know." 

Sakura looked down at her feet. It looked like their conversation was drifting off into nothingness again. Should she talk about...the Keichii thing now? No, maybe a little later. It was too soon, and they'd just gotten settled out here. With a sigh, she leaned back into her sleeping bag too and turned her head to face Syaoran. Then she noticed how close they really were; their sleeping bags were almost touching at the sides. 

Syaoran was still looking upward, and he was so silent that Sakura thought he might be asleep. But she saw his eyes were open. She followed his gaze. 

Stars, stars winking in the black velvety heavens like tiny droplets of diamond, stars in sparkling clusters, little sprinklings across the sky, decorating the darkness and making Sakura gasp with the beauty of it all. The moon, too, drew amazement with a silvery glowing brightness that even its waning state couldn't mar. Somewhere deep in the forest, a nightjar called in a soft, clear whistle.

Now that she and Syaoran were finally here, together, all alone in this perfect, enchanting place, Sakura couldn't speak. _I don't want to ruin this moment, _she thought. _This is enough, just lying here next to you under the stars, under the entire universe, breathing the same air as you and hearing your soft breathing so close to me._

Maybe he was asleep now. Slowly, Sakura inched her way toward his resting body, closer, as close to his comforting warmth as she dared.

"I'm sorry." The suddenness of his words would have made her jump if she hadn't been lying down, but her heart continued to pound loudly. "I'm sorry for doubting you. For questioning you about Keichii. I'm sorry, Sakura." 

Oh, those words... Did they really have a fight? How silly and insignificant it seemed now. What in the world had they been fighting about? "No, what are you apologizing for? I'm the one who should be saying sorry," Sakura choked. "I'm sorry for blowing up at you and saying those horrible words to you. You know I didn't mean a single one of those things, right?" 

"I hoped not, they sounded too ugly coming from your pretty mouth," he said with a smile. 

"Hey, be serious! I'm trying to apologize here!" she glared angrily at him. "And I'm also sorry about Keichii. Tomoyo told me what you had seen, and you should know that we did _not_ kiss, and there are no feelings between us of..._that _sort. Only friendship. Got it?"

"So Eriol was telling the truth. Whew...that was driving me crazy. So you really don't have the nasty lip germs of that guy plastered all over you?"

"_Syaoran!_ Just because I said I'm sorry doesn't mean you can diss him! He's still my friend!" 

"Oh no, Sakura, don't. You're making me jealous again. I don't think this poor heart of mine can take it." 

"Hmph!" Frowning, Sakura turned her back on him and stared at a blade of grass parallel to her face. "If you're not gonna be serious, then I'm not talking to you." 

"Oh, and you were complaining before that I was _too_ serious!" Syaoran pulled gently at a lock of her hair, and when she still didn't turn around, he twirled the piece of hair around his finger. "Hey, Sakura, have you ever kissed a guy before?" he asked casually. 

"Wha-" Swiping away his hand, Sakura whipped around and eyed him suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing at all," he answered, winking in a very unconvincing way. "Just answer the question for me, please? I want to know." 

"Well...no, I haven't. What about you?" She could feel a blush rising in her cheeks and was glad of the darkness. 

"Nope, I haven't kissed before either," he said to her immense relief. Stretching his arms out in a wide yawn, Syaoran promptly turned over in his sleeping bag and left her staring at his back, leaving her more than a little disappointed. 

"H-hey, Syaoran..." said Sakura, poking him in the shoulder. 

"Hm?" He turned over again, gazing right into her face. Those dark amber eyes softly took her in until, as though in a trance, she reached over and fingered a stray strand of brown hair near his cheek. 

"I missed you so much," she murmured sleepily. "I thought you were going to move away. I thought you were gonna go and leave me forever." 

Syaoran smiled and touched her hand lightly. "No way. I would never do that."     

*****

***A/N – **Wow, over three hundred reviews! So many people have read and like my story! I'm honored... ::dances for joy; readers all stare:: Well, I think it's high time that I THANK some of these people, so I'll start by saying thank you!!! to the reviewers of Chapter 11 (up to the time of this writing): 

**aznbludragongir, CronoCat-**I wanna meet a real-life Syaoran too!! And he's not just inviting Sakura here to watch hawks, it's also just to be with her.., **Midnight-Blue**, **Mini Sweety-**Yup, I need to stop being so lazy and start writing faster!, **servant of sirius, AnimeObsessionFantasy, KawaiiLiLCherryWolf, bunny angel, Natalie, PeachBlossom4416, GoddessLD, helen, Sparta-**I'm glad to know Fujitaka is himself^_^, **sally, emerald wolf, MoNkEyLuV4LiFe, x.scape., sKeWeD, Crazy-cherry, cherry blossom, Chico0221, LiL DuDeTtE, MeMe, Anime Queen, Wondakika05, Midnight Moon- **Yay, I'm glad you think my chapters are long enough!, **Julia and Tania- **Wah! You're so wonderful! I've never gotten such long and well thought out reviews! When I got your first one for Ch10, my eyes nearly popped.. And I'm so happy that you like "Dance With Me" too! It's these in-depth reviews like yours that truly inspire a writer and make her feel like it's all worthwhile! I wish I could review like that! _, **not applicable, adriana, CuziMaGrL, EcuaGirl, BabyWolfGurl, Rosie, kelly, MeMe **(again!), **PnAiXr0Se8, chibimiaka-chan, battousaixangel- **No! Don't die!, **Mystic Moon Empress, dilly-sammas luver, Linky-chan, crystal-chan-**Thank you, I'm so happy you like my writing! ^^, **meimei, Drunken Little Monkey, lexy ann**

Thanks a billion, all of you! Even if you didn't review, thanks for taking the time to read! I really appreciate all of your help and the inspiration you've given me! This chapter was a bit short, but I thought it had been long enough since I'd last updated. So I wasn't able to squeeze all the stuff I wanted into here, but because of that, the next chapter will be out VERY soon! I won't take a whole week this time! Joy! ^_^

Okay, now I need your opinion. I'd like to know if you think I should keep going with this story for a while and make it even longer (so I could try for 1000 reviews! Lol!). Or do you think I should end _Spilling Stars_ in a few more chapters, and then start a new story? Well, if I decide to keep writing this one, I'll most likely start a new one too since I've been thinking about it for some time. Okay okay, I'll stop rambling on now. Talk to me! What do you think?


	13. Birdwatching

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Thirteen: Birdwatching**

_It would be night soon. Slowly sinking down into the deep blue ocean, the blazing sun sent flares of red and orange dancing across the waters, lighting the waves on fire. Shadows were beginning to creep up over the sand, turning the baked warmth into a comfortable coolness. _

_Syaoran sat cross-legged, back straight, eyes closed, facing the ocean. He was meditating, like his newest Chinese martial arts teacher had shown him back home. Home. Was it really right to call it home, when they would probably just move away again? _

_The young boy allowed his eyes to open and take in the beautiful colors of dusk. Here he was once again, outside and on the beach. A whole week they had been here, and the beach was the only place he had actually liked. What other alternatives did he have, with his sisters dominating the TV and his mom working away on her computer, or on the phone? Even though she'd promised that she would leave her work behind this time. _

_Oh well. Syaoran had gotten used to it. Every time, she promised she would spend some more time with him, and not once had she kept her promise. That was okay. She had more important stuff to do. He liked being alone, anyway. _

_Still not moving from his sitting position, Syaoran turned his eyes from the sunset to the silver sword lying in the sand before him. Finally. For months, he had dearly coveted trying out that sword on his teacher's wall. He had watched in rapt attention every time the teacher gave a demonstration. And finally, after all that waiting, he had been allowed a suitable-sized sword of his own just before his ninth birthday..._

_Even though it wasn't the first time he had used the sword, Syaoran's breath still caught in his throat as he lifted it high. What marvelous, beautiful perfection. He stood up and brought the gleaming metal swishing through the air.     _

_"Wow, that's cool!" said a voice from behind him. Syaoran's heart leaped. It was her. _

_"H-hi," he said, turning to look at the cheerful auburn-haired girl. Good. At least he had managed to save himself from total embarrassment by coming up with an intelligible greeting this time. _

_She grinned back at him. "Hey, can I try holding your sword?" she asked. _

_Syaoran nodded. "But you have to be careful," he cautioned, handing it to her. _

_Even with both hands gripping the hilt, she couldn't support its weight; the sword slipped onto the sand with a thud. _

_"Oops, sorry," the girl grinned sheepishly as Syaoran picked it back up. "It's just too heavy for me. How can you lift it like that? You must be really strong!" _

_He blushed under her pure admiration. "Naw...you just need practice. Like...like you said, with the stars." _

_"Really? You think I could do it?" she asked doubtfully. In answer, Syaoran reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handfull of slightly smushed, but still intact, paper stars. Now was his chance. Dare he do it? _

_Gently, he took one of her hands and let his stars spill into the center of her palm. He had to say it, now, before he forgot or chickened out. "Please take these," said Syaoran. "S-since you gave me yours yesterday. And also...since you gave me the shell." Automatically, his hand went up to the cord around his neck, where the treasured shell hung with a tiny hole he had bored painstakingly by himself a few days ago. _

_"Hm? What's that?" said the girl, peering closely at his neck. "The seashell I gave you!" Her eyes sparkled in delight, and Syaoran glowed. So she didn't think it was silly of him to make it into a necklace. _

_"Okay!" she exclaimed, gingerly closing her hand around the stars. "I'll keep 'em, and I'll never lose them, ever! Not even when I die!" _

_"I'll never lose your shell either," said Syaoran softly. "I'll always keep it close to me."_

_With a determined look on her face, the little girl suddenly yanked Syaoran's sword out of his hands. It promptly plunked into the sand again. "Errr...I can do this..." she groaned, straining to lift the sword. "If you can make those stars, then I can lift this sword too...C'mon..." She pulled and pulled, but it barely budged. _

_After watching her for a second, Syaoran put his hands over hers and used a little of his strength to help her lift. When she had it safely balanced in the air, he slowly, carefully took his hands away, ready to catch the sword again if necessary. To his surprise, the sword trembled a few times but remained steadily in the air._

_"See!" she grinned proudly. "Told ya I could do it! Hey, could you come over here and take it now? I think I'm gonna let go."_

_Syaoran quickly took the sword from her, but before he could set it down, she threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "Thank you," she murmured, smiling. "I did it because you helped me. I'm so glad you're my friend." A little taken aback, the boy stared down at her reddish-brown hair that was practically touching his nose. It was always a bit of a surprise when she hugged him like this, but that wasn't to say he didn't like it. Oh no. He liked it very much. _

_Her hair smelled lightly of some fragrant spring flower. Plum. Or peach, perhaps. _

_Or was it cherry?_

_*****   _

Snuggled deep inside her toasty sleeping bag, Sakura opened her eyes to the sound of songbirds twittering away madly. The sky was still dark, in a dusky kind of way. She could just barely spot the moon, which was gradually fading out into nothingness. 

Why had she gotten up so early? It usually took her forever to drag herself up in the mornings. Taking in a deep breath of crisp fresh air, she was suddenly wide awake. Oh yeah, Syaoran. She turned over and rested her gaze on his sleeping form next to her.

Eyes closed, the boy had abandoned his usually guarded, serious expression for one of peaceful contentment. The straggling grey light touched on chestnut hair that was once again falling messily across his forehead. 

"He's probably having a beautiful dream," Sakura smiled to herself. "I wonder what he's dreaming about?" 

Slowly, quietly, so she wouldn't wake the sleeping Syaoran, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and examined his face more closely. If only she had a camera on hand right now. Oh no, she was starting to think like Tomoyo. 

Stifling a giggle, Sakura moved her hand toward Syaoran's face. After a moment's hesitation, she tentatively ran a finger along his cheek, letting her hand wander over his hair so that she barely brushed those tousled brown locks. She wanted to bury her face in it and breathe in, commiting his scent to her memory permanently. _I never thought I'd feel like this_. _This feeling...is it what I've been searching for?_

A warm hand slid over her own, jolting her back to reality. Sakura's first thought was that Syaoran had awakened, but as she glanced down at him, the boy smiled in his sleep. "Sakura..." he murmured, drawing her hand closer to his face. His lips brushed her fingers, sending a pleasant tingle that raced all the way throughout her body. It could have been an accident. Or maybe, in his dream... Her hand still helplessly in Syaoran's hold, Sakura blushed at the thought. Was he seeing her face in his dream? 

Slowly, Syaoran's eyes blinked open. He looked confused for a second, then grinned drowsily when he saw Sakura leaning over him. "Mmm...is it morning already...?" he mumbled, moving the hand that wasn't holding Sakura's over his eyes to block the light. Suddenly, he froze. 

"Oh no, the birds!" Syaoran cried out. Bolting up from his sleeping bag, he grabbed his backpack and glanced about wildly. "We have to hurry if we want to catch it. Do you have your binoculars?" 

Grabbing it from its resting place on top of her own backpack, Sakura was immediately pulled off her feet into the woods after Syaoran. He still hadn't let go of her hand all this time, she realized as the trees passed by in a blur of green. Passing through the maze of branches, the faint morning light was now becoming stronger. 

Ahead of her, Syaoran was muttering to himself. "Can't believe this... Wanted you to see the sunrise... Can't believe I almost made us miss it..." he grumbled on furiously. 

"H-hey Syaoran...it's okay, I don't really mind...too much..." 

"What are you TALKING about??" he almost shouted. "We have to go back home today, don't we? This is our only chance!"

"O-okay..." replied Sakura meekly, trotting along after his long strides. To tell the truth, it was kind of funny, in a sweet and touching way, that Syaoran cared so much about this. It was just birds, right? Did the timing have to be so exact? 

They came to a sudden stop at the end of the trail, which opened up to a wide ledge overlooking the endless sea of trees beneath them. The sun was still just a yellow sliver at the edge of the horizon. 

Syaoran had finally let go of her hand and was now scanning the skies. "All right, we haven't missed it," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Any moment now. See over there?" He indicated a large cluster of branchy trees growing close to some tall, craggy cliffs. "That's where a pair of Red-tailed Hawks used to nest. If we're lucky, we might see one of their chicks. If they're still around." 

They watched the dark trees intently until the sunlight hit and illuminated the branches. "There! I see it!" exclaimed Syaoran at once, bringing up his binoculars. "It's that large bump on the branch sticking out over there. Do you see it?" 

Uncertainly, Sakura stared through her binoculars at the spot he had shown her. She quickly saw the source of his excitement; a large chocolate-brown hawk perched upright on the branch. These binos really were good; she could see almost every detail as the bird ruffled in the brightness, stretched a wing, and launched itself off the tree. 

Sakura gasped. A bright red tail flashed in the sun as the hawk spread its feathers wide. With a couple of flaps, it was in the air, soaring higher and higher until she had to crane her neck with her face pointed straight up. 

"Don't stay like that for too long, or your neck will hurt," said Syaoran with a grin. Sakura turned to him; he had stopped looking at the hawk and was watching her instead. "Ready for a _real_ sight?" he asked. "Look." 

She had been so busy watching the hawk before that she hadn't remembered the sun. Now she gazed hungrily at the sky, speechless, at the picture before her that looked like a scene out of a nature movie, or a remarkably realistic painting. The dawn was spectacular. Spreading its golden rays across the edge of the sky until the horizon line glowed a reddish tangerine, the firey half-sun rose through low morning clouds. It touched the fluffy whiteness with a blend of different colors; first a cool grey, then a soft blue to match the sky, then cotton candy pink, and finally an orange gloriousness that was the same as the sun. 

The trees, too, were painted anew in bright green, the outlines contrasting from their previous dullness. Everything seemed to have a new definition to it, highlighted by the golden touch of the sunrise. Bursting up from their night roosts, flocks of songbirds sang out in celebration and dashed about, letting the warmth sink in before racing off to find breakfast. Soon, the forest was filled with the shrill chirping songs of hundreds of birds happily singing their hearts out. 

"There's a lake over there, see?" Syaoran pointed out. Sure enough, a lone white egret drifted up from a patch of blue in the distance. Silhouetted against the blazing sun, it flapped its snowy wings lazily and was quickly outstripped by a flock of noisily honking mallards. 

"How beautiful!" sighed Sakura happily. "This is so incredible. I never knew there was a place on Earth so beautiful as this. Now I know why you like being out here, Syaoran." 

"Mmm. I knew you would like it. That's why I brought you here," he smiled. She suddenly noticed that he wasn't even holding his binoculars.

"Hey, weren't you even watching all that?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's okay. I've seen it a million times before, missing it once won't hurt." 

"Oh? What were you doing then, that was so much more interesting than watching the birds?" 

Syaoran smiled, not taking his eyes away from her. Blushing, Sakura swiftly averted her eyes and stared into the sky. "I see, so you were watching _me_ instead. Is that it?" she teased. 

"Yep, that's exactly it," answered Syaoran, stepping closer to her. She didn't move away, but she still didn't look at him. "Who needs birdwatching when there's...you?" 

A million thoughts raced through Sakura's mind. Was he going to... Were they gonna... What if he wanted to kiss her?? She had way too little experience with these things. And as much as she wanted to kiss him... Well, it just felt awkward right now. Was this the time to tell him how she felt? But maybe he didn't want to talk... 

_Errgh, Sakura, why are you getting all these doubts now?? _she asked herself. She wasn't ready for this, she wasn't prepared. Birdwatching, sure. But her first kiss? 

This nervousness was taking over her, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself. She just had to be honest, that was all. Just be honest, and be yourself. No problem. Syaoran wouldn't be like Keichii. He wouldn't kiss her if she didn't want to. He'd ask first or something. Right??

The silence was getting too loud. _Say something, say something, _she thought desperately. 

"Um... I-It's so beautiful up there," stammered Sakura, still looking at the sky. Great. What a witty comment. Haven't you said that once already? 

"I've had lots of dreams about flying," she surged on. "I wonder what it would be like to fly? Without an airplane, I mean." _Stupid, stupid! _her mind screamed. 

_Shut up! _she screamed back. _I'm doing the best I can. _Encouraged by Syaoran's silence, which meant that he was listening, Sakura continued. "Seeing all those birds fly up like that, it makes me want to go up there and fly with them. It must be fantastic."

Syaoran grinned. "Yeah, I've always wanted to fly too. Wanna try it?" 

"Okay!" laughed Sakura nervously, too busy trying to keep up a conversation to wonder how they'd actually fly. 

"Then close your eyes," he said, coming up behind her. Sakura did, but left her eyelids open a slit just in case. 

She felt Syaoran's hands touch her shoulders and almost trembled in spite of herself. "You're soaring in the wind," he whispered softly. "The thermals are carrying you into the sky, past the treetops, past white clouds. Your hair is flying back in the gentle breeze..." Sakura could feel her hair moving and smiled. 

"Can you feel it?" said Syaoran, his voice right next to her ear. "You're gliding...and you barely have to move your wings at all, the wind is so perfect today. All you can see is an ocean of blue before you, and the earth is small and far beneath you. You're dancing across the skies, the fresh air washing over you... Isn't it the most beautiful thing in the world?"

To his surprise, Sakura frowned. "What's wrong? Did you hit a plane or something?" he asked, looking into her face. 

She laughed, her eyes sparkling in merriment. "No, it's beautiful, but...it just feels strange if you're not here too." 

For a moment, Syaoran seemed uncertain about what she meant by that. Then he understood and nodded. "I'll come fly with you," he said, smiling. Sakura had barely closed her eyes again, for real this time, when she felt Syaoran's warm hands cover her own. "See? Now I'm right beside you." 

There was an explosion inside Sakura's heart like she had never experienced before. He was...well...sort of hugging her from behind. She could feel his body against her back. Oh, what she would give to be able to turn around right now! 

Was this really happening? In the midst of this peaceful place, she and Syaoran were together... She dared not open her eyes, for fear of waking from a dream. But dreams couldn't be this vivid, this real. She was completely lucid right now. 

"Syaoran..." she whispered.

"Yes?" The quiet voice was so close, it sent shivers down her spine. 

"Stay with me." 

His hands creeped into hers and intertwined with her fingers, fitting together like puzzle pieces. "Always." 

Hardly able to breathe, Sakura hesitantly slid around until she was facing him. She was scared to look at his face, for some reason. So she stared at the necklace, the shell hidden under his shirt. 

Syaoran waited while she slowly fingered the cord around his neck. Her hand drifted lightly across his collarbone, then to his shoulder, to the ends of his chestnut hair. He waited until she finally looked up, her nervously bright green eyes taking in his soft, amber brown ones. She kept her eyes wide open as his face came within inches of hers. 

His lips brushed her cheek gently, tenderly, with a little more meaning that just a friendly kiss. Smiling into her hair, Syaoran felt her sigh with both relief and frustration. 

"You idiot, scaring me like that," Sakura muttered quietly. She was so...well, _relieved_ didn't even begin to describe it. This showed how much self-restraint and respect he had. Well, this was Syaoran, after all; he was special. 

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again," promised Syaoran with a grin.

Still, Sakura couldn't help wishing she had felt his lips against hers... She quickly shook herself out of that. What was she worried about? There would be plenty of time now.  

Completely at ease now, Sakura let herself go. Her arms found their way around Syaoran's neck, and she laid her head down on his welcoming shoulder. 

They held each other like that for a long time. 

*****

Thursday morning, it was back to school again. Sakura wandered sleepily down the stairs and was greeted by the sight of her father at the table, seated behind a newspaper. "G'morning Dad," she yawned widely. 

"Good morning," smiled Fujitaka. "You're up early today." 

"Really? Am I?" said Sakura, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at the clock. "Well, I wanted to get to school early so I'd have some time to talk with Tomoyo. I was just too tired after the flight yesterday." 

The doorbell rang, and they both looked at each other in surprise. "I-I'll get it," she said quickly, walking toward the door. Maybe Tomoyo had decided to come pick her up. But so early?

Sakura pulled open the door to reveal Syaoran, whose hair looked as if it had been combed for once. He was dressed a little more nicely than usual, and was carrying a large bag with delicious food smells wafting from it. 

"Hey," he grinned at Sakura, who was gaping at him. "May I come in?" 

"S-sure..." She let him in and closed the door behind him. Before she could ask what he was doing here, Fujitaka appeared with a questioning look. 

"Good morning, Mr. Kinomoto," said Syaoran, bowing his head. "I'm Syaoran Li. Excuse me for interrupting your breakfast so rudely, but I had to come over and apologize."

Sakura almost giggled at how polite and tense he was being, while Fujitaka frowned. "Apologize? Whatever for?" 

"Ah...um... F-for so inconveniencing your daughter yesterday and making her miss a day of school," he managed, turning pink. "I'm very sorry. I-I brought some breakfast, even though it's barely a-adequate compensation for my m-misbehavior-" 

"Syaoran, it's okay. You can talk like yourself around him," Sakura laughed. Syaoran turned an even deeper shade of red as Fujitaka put a hand on his shoulder and led him to the table. 

"Don't you worry," said Fujitaka. "It was for a good cause, right? Everything was worked out. There's no need to be sorry. And if you insist, consider your apology already accepted and forgiven." 

Syaoran only looked amazed, as Sakura poked him in the side and whispered, "Told you!" 

"Now then, let's see what you've got in that bag!" Fujitaka proclaimed.   

*********

***A/N- **Hehe, I'm so evil. They still haven't really kissed or confessed yet, like so many of the reviewers this time wanted. Mweheheheheh! Patience, patience. Your moment is coming soon! I'll give you a hint: it'll be at night. They met during the night, after all. ^_~

Thank you for all the helpful opinions this time about the continuation of this fic. Many of you confirmed what I had already kinda decided, while others opened up new ideas to me. I'll just say that this story will be coming to an end (sniff sniff), but there are still a couple of good chapters to come, so please stick around till the end! See, in the summary, it's clear that the conflict of the story is for Sakura to find out who Syaoran really is. And she hasn't exactly completely found that out yet, has she? So the conflict can't be resolved yet. So the story can't be over. Yet. -_-;;  ::tries desperately to explain; readers all fall asleep:: 

Ookay! Thank yous, again! First time I've done it twice in a row, because it's so much fun and I appreciate each and every one of you so much! I wish I could write comments for each reviewer, but then I'd go blathering on forever and the "thank yous" would be longer than the actual story... And who wants that??! Besides, my comments are long enough as it is. See, that's what happens when you people write such cool reviews: 

**Natalie, Red-Emerald, Akina, Toki **–Thank you for your support. ^_^, **Julia and Tania **–Yay! You guys are like the confirmation that I did everything right. Can't say enough how much your comments help. Don't get me wrong; I love loooong reviews! You don't have to try to keep them short! ^^, **TiarellaCordifolia, emerald wolf1, CuziMaGrL, helen, EcuaGirl, Skylover, aznxbabie, MeMe, Kawaii-CherryWolf, AnimeObsessionFantasy, whun.love, Meilin Baby 13, kelly, Sakume Nohara, Final Fantasy Princess, Sparta **–Thanks for your opinion. I thought it was very true that if I keep writing only to get a bunch of reviews, it would be in vain. I'm glad you made that ever more clear for me. ^_^, **GoddessLD –**Waah! I can't find much info/pics about Tsubasa anywhere!! I'm dying to read it! , **StRaIgHt A ChEaTeR, Anime Queen4 (aka Amazonian Anime Queen), peachy-chan, Evil of Heart **–Heheh..I like that part too. I know...wouldn't it be wonderful if a guy like Syaoran actually existed? Hmm... Maybe there is one out there somewhere. ^^ I like how you cited a specific passage from the story. :-D, **Mystic Moon Empress, cherry blossom2, CrystallineX –**Thank you, what a compliment! T_T, **EasilY AmuseD2 **–You're right, fifty is a lot of chapters. I don't know if I could ever write that much in a story! I'm glad you enjoy my story. :-D, **BabyWolfGurl, not applicable, Fire Phoenix1, Medieval Legend15 **–Wow, I'm happy this story caught your attention! Thanks very much^_^, **Ying Lang **–Thanks for the long review! Your comments were absolutely great! , **PnAiXr0sE8, cherrixwolf, Chico0221, battousaixangel **–I think you're right. It's hard for me to find too many other ways to prolong the story. I'm excited about thinking up ideas for a new story, and I hope you read it when it comes out! And about updating, well, thanks. To think that in the beginning, I vowed to update every 3-4 days...now it's down to an average of about once per week.. -_-;; **swtgrl, bunny angel, Shima and Tempis **–That has got to be one of the best compliments I've ever received for this story. A published book!! Honestly! You sure know how to flatter^_~ Thank you!!!, **chibimiaka-chan **–Thanks for letting me know what you think. And you ARE special.^^, **MoNkEyLuV4LiFe, Sakura-Star3, CronoCat **–Wai! Thanks a bunch for reminding me about the dreams! You made me think, and you were right; it had been a while since I'd put in a dream. So the dream in this chapter is dedicated to you! Thanks again!! , **elisa ang, The Dark Neko, dragoneyes2005 **–Wow, thank you! I'm so happy you like this story!, **dilly-sammas luver **–It's good to know my chapters are just the right length! :-D , **PeachBlossom4416**      

Wow, that was long. O_O  To reduce the length and boringness of this space, you can periodically check out my bio, which I've finally updated! I'll add info about stories and such there. So please check it out! And you can read my blurty if you want to find out more than you ever wanted about the author of this story (even though there's barely anything serious in there...). Ack! You see what happened?? I talk too much!! 

^_^ Please review! Be sure to remind me of anything I missed, point out mistakes, give suggestions, anything.


	14. To the Dance

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Fourteen: To The Dance**

The twittering of sparrows reminded Syaoran of their recent birdwatching as he walked along next to Sakura. Those hours with her had passed like a dream; he still didn't understand where he had gotten the courage to kiss her, if only on the cheek. Stealing a sideways look at Sakura, he blushed lightly. It was just her being there by his side, stirring up a strange, inexplainable happiness inside him. He didn't want to rush things now, to break this careful balance that had been laid between them.

"You can stop laughing now," he muttered, picking up his pace a bit. Of course, that didn't work, since Sakura was the one on rollerblades (the ones _he_ had given her, his heart realized with a thump) and he was the one walking. 

Gliding over the sidewalk, she quickly reached his side with a small smirk still dancing across her face. "You know, Syaoran, I didn't know you could be so polite," said Sakura. She caught his shoulder with a hand to keep her balance.

"And I didn't know such an experienced rollerblader needed help to stay upright," Syaoran shot back. Pulling away, he made a face at Sakura as she wobbled unsteadily. 

She pitched forward, right into his arms. 

Syaoran caught her and tried to help her stand again, but her slim arms were fastened stubbornly around his neck. "Sakura, you're choking me to death," he said calmly. 

"That's what you get for being a meanie!" replied Sakura, pushing herself back with perfect balance. As she rolled slowly backward, the girl stuck her tongue out at him. It was such an exaggeratedly childish gesture that Syaoran couldn't help laughing out loud, and Sakura's warm, tinkling laughter joined his. 

_Wait- did I just think "tinkling"?? _he thought. _I must be losing it. _

With a smile, Syaoran grabbed Sakura's outstretched hand and pulled her around so they were facing each other. "Your dad is nice," he said. This was all he needed in the world, to be able to look into her emerald eyes so filled with light and joy. 

"Yup!" Sakura agreed with his words wholeheartedly. "And I know he likes you a lot. Couldn't you tell, the way he praised your food?" She ran a hand through his bangs in an attempt to straighten them, but the hair ended up messier anyway. 

"Didn't I already say you could go on ahead? Then maybe you won't be tripping up all the time." Syaoran gave her a gentle push that sent her sailing forward, in hopes that she wouldn't see the pink in his face. Somehow, she was back by his side in a second. 

"And I've already told you, I don't mind going slow for you," replied Sakura with a heart-melting grin. 

When they reached school, she headed at once for Tomoyo, but not before giving Syaoran's hand a squeeze. "See you," she said softly, almost shyly, and with a parting smile that made Syaoran want to chase after her like a crazy person, Sakura left. 

He stared after her, feeling kind of lonely, watching her as she began chatting cheerfully with Tomoyo. Immersed in thoughts of Sakura, he didn't even notice Eriol stepping up behind him until a voice said, "It's not like you'll never see her again. There's always lunch, and after school. Weekends, too." 

Whipping around, Syaoran relaxed when he saw who it was. "Aha! Look at that blush!" Eriol exclaimed. "So something _did _happen. Are you going to tell me?" He winked.

"No!" growled Syaoran, pushing past him. 

Eriol followed, laughing. "Come on, I saw how you were watching her. It's been driving Tomoyo and me crazy, waiting for news about what happened. Tell me! Or are the details too disgustingly gruesome for my innocent ears?"

That brought a chuckle out of Syaoran; he doubted that anything of Eriol's could be described as "innocent". "Nothing like that happened," he said, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. To his surprise, he was smiling. Smiling at Eriol's outrageous comments. It felt good to be around someone who understood –or at least, tried to understand- how he felt. To be able to joke around and say anything... A friend... He found himself wanting to be more open than before. How had this happened? Was it because of Sakura?

Eriol understood. Smiling, he clapped a hand over Syaoran's shoulder and propelled him toward class, just as the bell rang. "I'm glad you and Sakura are finally seeing things the same way," he said, uncharacteristically serious for once. "Now you know how I feel." 

Syaoran turned to him questioningly. 

"How it feels to be in love." 

Love? Stopping in his tracks, Syaoran automatically opened his mouth to protest before he knew what he was doing. "No, I... That's not..." he stammered. 

"What? You do love her, don't you?" countered Eriol with that mysterious, knowing smile of his.

"L-let's go, we're gonna be late for class!" Syaoran growled, a little louder than he had meant to. Vaguely aware of Eriol's soft laughter as he stalked off, Syaoran pondered those words. Love... He had known Sakura for less than a month, and already his heart thundered at her sight, at the bare mentioning of her name. Something about her was irresistably pulling him in. He was falling deeper and deeper each day, and this time he could not hope to get out. 

Love. Could it really be that? Something else was tugging at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite figure it out at the moment. Whatever this feeling was that made him keep thinking about those breathtaking green eyes, it sure felt like more than just a bit of friendly affection. 

All he knew was that he had never felt more himself than when he was next to Sakura. 

*****

"Well, I'm really glad you guys made up, but I still think you should've told Syaoran when you had the chance," said Tomoyo as she and Sakura walked to the tree after school to wait for Syaoran and Eriol. 

"I know," Sakura sighed, tugging a strap from her backpack. "But it just didn't feel right. Like...it didn't seem like the right time to say those things." 

Tomoyo nodded. "Scared?" 

"Yes!" laughed Sakura. "I didn't want to ruin the moment we had. And also...I don't know how he would've reacted. What if he...got all weird and started ignoring me or something?" 

"Hello, Earth to Sakura! The guy's crazy about you! He'd be completely overjoyed!"

"Maybe," Sakura said, but she couldn't hide a rather large smile that was spreading across her face. 

"He would!" insisted Tomoyo. Suddenly, she stopped. "Oh no, I just remembered! I forgot my science binder in my locker. I've got to go back and get it."

"I'll go with you," Sakura said quickly.

"No, it's okay." Tomoyo waved a hand dismissively. "My locker's really close, so I'll be back in a second. Besides, if you leave, the guys won't be able to find us."

"And there's another reason," she said, lowering her voice so only Sakura could hear. "I think there's someone who wants to talk to you alone. I'll be back as quick as I can." And before Sakura could ask, she was on her way, mouthing "good luck" over her shoulder.

Sakura turned and saw Keichii heading in her direction. She looked down quickly, remembering the events that had happened before. _No, what are you doing? Just be natural!_ she thought furiously. _We're still friends, aren't we?_

Bringing her head up, she readied herself with a cheerful smile. "Hi Keichii!" she said, sounding a little _too_ cheerful. Oh well, what could she do? She had a right to be nervous.

"Hey, Sakura." His hands dangled awkwardly at his sides, and Sakura watched as he stuck them into his jeans pockets. 

Silence.

Sakura, finding it difficult to keep looking at his face when they both weren't saying anything, looked at his hair instead. The dark hair that she had so easily touched back when they were just simple friends. Not anymore.

Great. They really were coming apart; they couldn't even find a few words to say to each other. Sakura searched her mind, determined to find something, anything that they could talk about.

"So." The sudden word caught her attention, bringing her eyes back to Keichii's face. "I noticed that Syaoran's back today. Is that why you were absent yesterday?"

"Y-yeah," said Sakura. 

"So, you worked everything out then? Between...between you and Syaoran?"

She nodded.

"Well, that's good," Keichii smiled with relief. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. I hope you can forgive me..."

"Of course! There's nothing to be sorry about, it wasn't your fault at all!" Leaping to his defense, Sakura put a comforting hand on his arm. "I just want us to still be friends. Like we used to be. Is that okay?"

Keichii nodded, giving her a real smile this time. _So far so good, _Sakura let out an internal sigh. Suddenly, she caught sight of Tomoyo jogging toward her in the distance, excitedly brandishing a piece of paper. 

"Um...have you heard about the dance yet?" said Keichii quickly. "They just announced it yesterday. It's a Back-to-School Fall Dance sort of thing, Friday night. Everyone will be there. D-do you think you'll go?"

"I'm not sure yet," Sakura replied, glancing over his shoulder. Tomoyo was giving her a wide-eyed, urgent look, but she couldn't figure out what it meant. 

"Well, I..." Keichii lifted his eyes and looked straight into Sakura's face. "To be honest, I wanted to ask you to come with me, Sakura. But you're going with Syaoran, right?"

Completely caught off guard, Sakura stared back at him. She hadn't given any thought to this at all. Keichii was making this sound like some formal dance where you had to bring a date, when she knew the Back-to-School dances were all casual. Before, she'd rather like to hang out with a group of friends than stand around stiffly with some guy. But what else could she say? If there was one boy in the universe that she wanted to go to a dance with, it was definitely Syaoran.

"I haven't really thought about it," she said slowly. "I'm not even sure if I'm going or not." Over Keichii's shoulder, Tomoyo shook her head madly, sending dark hair flying. Sakura gave her an odd look. What was up with that girl? She turned back to Keichii, who was smiling bravely.

"Sakura, you don't have to soften reality for me. Just tell me the truth. Please."

The words made her heart give a weak sort of flop. Keichii... Too bad it had to be like this. She closed her eyes for a brief second and smiled; plastered all across her mind was the answer. 

"Yes," said Sakura firmly. "If I go to the dance, I'll be going with Syaoran. As long as he agrees to go with me."

Looking relieved and a bit hurt at the same time, Keichii seemed to struggle with his feelings for a moment. He took a deep breath. "I see. Well...if you go, then I'll see you there." Barely able to dredge up a wavering smile, he left before she could think of anything else to say.

"Okay Tomoyo, what were you trying to say?" she asked. 

"Turn around!" replied Tomoyo, apprehensively pointing behind her. Shooting her friend a quizzical look, Sakura wheeled around to see what was going on.

There stood Syaoran. And it looked like he had heard everything.

"Yes, I'll go with you." His expression was curiously blank, but his eyes were smiling. "That is, if you want to." 

"She wants to!" crowed Tomoyo triumphantly. "Ohohohohoho! If only I had my camera right now! I can picture it...the first dance..." 

Just then, Eriol popped in. "Hey people, sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?" he asked, casually draping an arm over Tomoyo's shoulder and playing with her long, silky locks. 

"Those two just decided that they're going to the dance together," said Tomoyo, flinging his arm away and sticking the dance announcement flyer in front of his face instead. "Which means we're going too!" 

"A party? Yesssssss! About time!" Eriol started doing a little dance of his own, to Tomoyo's great disgust.

"Listen, you, if you're going to play around, then you can just forget about it!" she snapped. 

Eriol stopped and grasped her hands, leaning slyly closer. "Don't worry, Tomoyo. Tomorrow night, I'll be dancing with no one but you. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear..." He kissed her on the ear as if to seal that promise, making her blush. 

"Sakura... Is it okay?" asked Syaoran, looking at her. Sakura knew he was talking about Keichii. She still couldn't help but feel worried about him, and that downcast look in his eyes when he walked away. She didn't want him to feel lonely, for she had known this feeling before all too well. Keichii shouldn't have to feel that way. Unconsciously, Sakura reached out for Syaoran's hand, found it, and held on tightly. 

"He has friends," Syaoran said consolingly. "He's a pretty popular guy, right? But...if it looks like he's by himself, we can have him come hang out with us." 

Eyes shining full of gratitude, Sakura pulled him closely into a hug. There was nothing to worry about. She had Syaoran, and that was all that mattered.

*****

In the setting sunlight, Syaoran nervously touched his hair and checked his watch again. He had been standing here alone at the school gate, near the driveway, for almost five minutes now. _Okay, _he thought, bouncing back and forth on the pads of his feet. _So I'm a little uptight about this. Fine, more than a little. A lot uptight. _It seemed like forever since his last dance, and that had been completely different. 

This one had Sakura. 

He agitatedly brushed off his black T-shirt, a little flashier than usual with a large dark-green dragon curling around the front. Too late to think about clothes now. Searching through his closet, he had finally grabbed whatever he thought might look good on impulse. Briefly wondering what Eriol was wearing, he searched the streets, even though he had no idea which cars might hold Eriol, Tomoyo, or Sakura.

Syaoran almost ran a hand through his hair, but he managed to restrained himself. For this special occasion, he had allowed himself a bit of gel, though it didn't seem to have made any difference that he could see. On second thought, he gave in and gave his brown strands a messy rake. Sure. That helped tons. 

_What is up with me?_ He could barely think. This was just a harmless little dance, with some loud music and lots of people prancing around. _But technically, you're going to this dance with **Sakura**,_ he thought. _That makes all the difference. _

Heck, maybe she didn't even think of it that way. Maybe to her, it was just a friendly group gathering sort of thing. 

But Syaoran had heard such honest conviction in her voice when she had said his name...it was like she didn't even have to think about it. Was he that close on her mind? Oh, if only, he wished fervently. Would this be the night that he could finally set loose this raging flood of feelings inside him? He needed Sakura to know that she was more than just a really good friend to him...more than _anything_ to him... 

"Syaoran!" 

His heart leaped. It was Sakura, coming up from the sidewalk and waving happily to him. He had been so deeply buried in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed. 

"H-hey," he said, unable to take his eyes off her as she came to his side, cheeks flushed. "Y-you look nice." 

That was the biggest understatement of his life. Sakura's hair was exceptionally smooth-looking tonight, creating an almost golden-red frame around her face and falling just slightly below her shoulders. A silvery shimmer softly blanketed her eyelids, bringing attention to those already dazzling emerald eyes. There was a light rose color adorning her cheeks, but it looked so natural that he couldn't tell whether it was makeup or a real blush. 

And her lips... Syaoran's eyes travelled slowly down her face, then quickly stared down at his shoes. If he had to look at her lips again, he wasn't sure he could repress the urge to kiss her right there and then. 

Syaoran could feel the smile in Sakura's voice. "You look pretty hot yourself." Before he could react, she had reached up to his face. "Did you do something to your hair?" she asked, fingering a stray piece. 

"Yeah, I...I tried to," said Syaoran, trying to keep from blushing and failing. But he was pleased that she had actually noticed his pains to tame his hair, even though it hadn't really worked. 

"And I like the shirt." Sakura tapped his chest lightly with a finger, and the touch ignited a small flame inside him. But he tried not to show it as he grinned and replied, "Thanks." This was unbelievable; she must be some kind of mind-reading angel or something. In spite of himself, it felt incredible when all of his efforts to look good for her were noticed.

"Hey, you guys!" Tomoyo came rushing up, video camera clutched tightly in hand, with Eriol strolling languidly behind her. She was wearing a lavender skirt that came to her knees, while Eriol wore only T-shirt and jeans. Syaoran gave a sigh of relief. 

"Did you two come together?" asked Sakura, eyeing Tomoyo's camera warily. 

"Yup! In my limo," replied Eriol, rather evilly. But Tomoyo rolled her eyes and gave him a heavy shove. 

"Who cares what kind of car you have?" she retorted, shaking her head and sending dark waves of hair cascading down her shoulders. "An idiot is still an idiot."

"Hey!" Eriol exclaimed. 

Tomoyo covered her mouth to keep from laughing at his outrage, then went straight to Sakura. "Those black pants again?" she sighed. "Why didn't you just come over to my house? I have a zillion perfect outfits for you to try. At least you could've worn a nicer shirt, instead of this old tank..."  

"It's _okay_, Tomoyo," Sakura assured her. "I like it, and it's comfortable, so it doesn't matter."

"I think she looks great," Syaoran claimed boldly. Sakura smiled at him in thanks, and his heart began to pound so annoyingly loudly that he wondered if everyone could hear it. 

"The man's right, Tomo-darling," drawled Eriol. "So you might as well lay off the fancy-costume thing."

He took off quickly toward the entrance to the dance, closely pursued by a furious Tomoyo who looked as though she wanted to break her camera over his head. Laughing, Sakura turned to look at Syaoran. 

"Shall we go?" she asked brightly. Syaoran nodded and followed her into the school. After a moment's debate, he closed his hand over hers and walked on as casually as he could. Sakura didn't seem to mind; she only stepped closer so their arms could easily touch. Soon, they could make out the fuzzy outline of dance admission line near the inner gate, where Tomoyo and Eriol were waiting. 

"Ready?" breathed Syaoran, more to himself than to Sakura.

"Yeah! I can't wait!" she exclaimed with a beautiful smile that made him melt into the ground. Her confidence calmed Syaoran, but the loveliness he saw in her with each step they took only made him more dizzily tightened up inside. 

_This is going to be a night to remember, _thought Syaoran, giving Sakura's hand a squeeze.  

*****

***A/N- **Ohohohoho! ::turns into Tomoyo:: -_-; I can't wait until the next chapter, the dance! I'll try to have it out really soon. Sorry for the wait on this one, but I had to take advantage of some of these last school-free days. NOOOO! School is less than two weeks away!! X_X

Thanks to all for your (as always) awesomely fantastic reviews! Especially to **Shirahana **and **sweet^sakura^star **for reading all the way through the story from beginning to end in one shot! ^__^ If there was anyone else who did that this time, I'm sorry for not mentioning... I have horrible memory. U_U 

So what do you think of the dance idea? It may seem like it just popped up out of nowhere, but it's actually a crucial part to this story. ^_~ Maybe you can guess. Besides, I love dances!! I'd put some form of a dance in every one of my stories if I could, but that might get repetitive... Oh well, I'm digressing again. 

Please continue to read **Spilling Stars,** because it makes me so happy, and stick with me until the end, which is soon. I'll just say that I won't be going over twenty chapters for this story. But once I'm done, I'll be starting a new one that I'd like to make even longer (I'll write one story at a time for now, since I don't want to take forever updating each one).

If you'd like, please check out some of my original stuff at **Fictionpress.** There's a link to it in my profile. I don't have much yet, and it's not very good writing/poetry, but if you're bored, there's something you can read. ^_^ I'll try to get an actual real STORY on there sometime. -_-;

Thank you again, and please continue to tell me what you think!    


	15. Revealing Truth

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Fifteen: Revealing Truth**

"Wow, what a line!" exclaimed Sakura, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. The excitement was driving her crazy inside, and this long stretch of people that snaked well past the entrance wasn't helping. Widely aware of Syaoran's warm hand in hers, she made her way closer to Tomoyo and Eriol. 

"It's freezing!" Tomoyo was complaining, rubbing her hands briskly over her arms for warmth. "I can't believe this...we'll never get inside... Well??!" she bursted suddenly with a significant glare at Eriol. 

"Well what?" asked Eriol. Then he caught the soft blush on her face. "Oooh...I see, you want me to be a gentleman and put my toasty jacket around your shoulders, right? How romantic your thoughts become, Tomo dear. Well, it's really too bad; I have no jacket to spare right now." 

Eyeing him resentfully, Tomoyo turned her back to him with an indignant huff. "Some boyfriend you are..." she muttered.

Suddenly, Eriol threw himself at her and squeezed her so tightly that she yelped. "No jacket...but you can have my arms instead," he said, eyes twinkling. "And my shoulders. And my chest. And the rest of my bo-" 

Tomoyo reached up and covered his mouth before he could go on. "Stop," she whispered. "Before you make me get mad at you again." Grinning happily, she hugged him back and didn't let go, ignoring the stares of other people in line.

"Aww...you guys are so cute!" Sakura giggled, backing up a few steps to give her friends some space. She unconsciously bumped into Syaoran, who immediately put out a hand to steady her. 

The touch electrified her, sending a shock through her veins. She'd almost forgotten that she was still holding onto Syaoran's hand. With a shy smile, she took his other hand too and walked backward, along with the movement of the line. Seeing Tomoyo with Eriol made her feel like she should be a little more open too. But...did Syaoran know that she wanted that same kind of closeness? No, even more than that. She wanted...she wanted that intimate feeling that only two of the closest souls could share. What would he think of that?

Maybe I should just keep it casual for now, thought Sakura, letting go of both his hands as they reached the ticket admission tables. Fishing around in her pocket, she had just managed to close her fingers around some bills when she heard Syaoran say, "Two, please." He was paying for her! 

"No, wait!" she cried, whipping out her money. But they were already being ushered toward the outdoor dance site, the quad. "Fine then, take it," she said, giving Syaoran the money instead. 

He shook his head. "Sakura, don't worry about it. It's only five dollars."

"No! I have to pay you back. Take it!" repeated Sakura. She tried to stuff the bills in his hand, but he shied away with a mishievious look on his face. 

"Okay, I'll take it. If you can make me!" Grinning, Syaoran gave her a poke in the side and ran.

"Syaoran! Get back here!" she cried, taking off after him. Through the crowds she weaved, searching frantically for Tomoyo at the same time. Suddenly, Syaoran's arm was right in front of her, so she latched on to it with a triumphant, "Gotcha!" 

They wheeled around together, and somehow she ended up with her arms clinging around his neck and her eyes glued breathlessly to his. For a split second, Sakura forgot that she was trying to return money; she simply stared at him in awe. All around them, friends, couples, and groups were bouncing to the catchy beat that was playing right now. 

"Let's dance, Sakura," said Syaoran, pulling her a little closer.

"N-no!" She broke away from him abruptly. "Stop trying to make me forget!" Almost trembling, she took his open palm and slapped the five dollars into it. 

No no no...why had she said it like that? 

A horrible silence fell that seemed like it lasted forever, even though all around them the noise was deafening. All Sakura could sense was the silence, because she didn't dare look at him. She was too afraid of what she might see there. Sinking with dread, she waited, looking down at Syaoran's white shoes beneath dark blue jeans. 

She heard a sigh. "Fine, I'll take it. Happy?" The crinkling sound of paper being thrust into pocket. "Sakura? We don't have to dance if you don't want to." 

Finally, she risked a glance at Syaoran. He was looking away into the flashing multicolored strobe lights, but his eyes didn't look like they were completely focused on any one thing. Sakura knew that look at once; it was the carefully guarded expression that he used for concealing his emotions. 

Feeling like the world had just collapsed on top of her, Sakura slowly reached out and took his hand. "I'm sorry," she said, hoping that her words would truly convey the depth of her feelings. "I don't know what came over me just then. I...I was nervous, I guess. I don't really know much about dancing. I don't even know _how _to dance. So please forgive me for snapping at you. I'm sorry, and I'll never do it again."

She felt a warmth on her cold cheek, and closed her eyes to fully take in the touch of his hand. It was only after she opened her eyes and connected with his did he smile. Sakura couldn't help but smile back, dissolving the cloud of heavy, confused feelings at the same time. 

"It's not your fault," replied Syaoran, his eyes light and happy once again. "I know we're both nervous, and you don't have to apologize for that. I probably should've just been a good boy and obeyed you earlier." He patted the money in his pocket. "Besides, I don't want you turning into Tomoyo and trying to kill me every day. She's a great person, but she can be scary..."

"Yeah, I know." Sakura happily launched into conversation with him again. "But deep down, she really has a soft side. And even if she's a little mean to Eriol, you can tell how much she loves him. They're absolutely perfect for each other!" 

"Yes, they are..." Syaoran agreed. His voice had a hint of wistfulness in it that made Sakura wonder. _What about us, Syaoran? You...you're perfect for me. But do you feel the same? Will we ever take down this awkward separation that's standing between us?_

"Let's go find the others," she said quickly, grabbing hold of his hand and starting to drag him through the crowd. She didn't complain when he swiftly hugged her from behind, nestling his head on her shoulder. Smiling, she gave a strand of his hair a soft tug and turned her face so she could smell the clean shampooey scent. 

A large circle of people whooping and clapping caught Sakura's attention. "Let's go see what's up," she suggested, leading Syaoran toward it. He came willingly, as he was still wrapping her up in his arms. Trying to squeeze through the packed spectators, she ran into Tomoyo, who waved excitedly and made some room for them. 

"It's Keichii!" Tomoyo bursted at once, pushing Sakura to the front. Sure enough, there was Keichii in the middle of the circle. Breakdancing. He was in the middle of a dizzying spin, but he caught sight of Sakura and lurched to the side, throwing himself off balance. 

People cheered anyway as he got up, Sakura along with the rest of them. Reddening a little, Keichii made his way over to her. "Hey," he said, glancing warily at Syaoran. 

"You were pretty good," smiled Syaoran. Letting go of Sakura, he held out a hand to Keichii, who looked confused for a moment.

"You were great!" Sakura exclaimed. "You've really improved. How come you didn't tell me that you've been practicing?" 

Blushing, looking hesitantly pleased, Keichii slapped down on Syaoran's hand. "Th-thanks you guys...but I don't think I was that good...I mean, I messed up a bunch of times, and-"

"But you had the guts to go out there and show off your skills, so that means you were good," interrupted Eriol, who had just appeared with Tomoyo in tow. "Speaking of skills..." Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a pair of glowsticks and dangled them by their strings. He swung them expertly a few times, to everyone's surprise. 

"Shall I?" he asked, winking at Tomoyo.

"Yes!" Tomoyo shouted, shoving him right into the middle of the dwindling circle. "Now show me what you got!"

"Okay. This is for you, honey!" Eriol answered her, blowing an exaggerated kiss. Quickly, the air around him became a blur of green glow-lights. From simple figure eights to complicated patterns that Sakura couldn't even name, Eriol traced them all into the air with deft wrist and arm movements. It was quite a dazzling sight, and a crowd formed that was even thicker than the one previously watching Keichii. As spectators grew, Eriol's confident smile only grew bigger. He didn't make a single mistake.

"Whoa, I didn't know Eriol could rave!" marveled Keichii, with a questioning look to the others. 

Sakura laughed in disbelief. "Neither did I! I can't believe it, he's totally insane!"

"You've got that right," Tomoyo grumbled with her arms crossed. "Look at all those drooling girls trying to make goo-goo eyes at him. Oh crap, that little... I think he's waving to them!"  

"So, what did you think?" asked Eriol, coming over with a kiss for Tomoyo, and she immediately relaxed. 

Sakura began, "You were-"

"Absolutely terrible. You were flicking your wrists too hard, forcing the movement. It's not flowing. Too jerky," finished Syaoran.

"Oh, okay. Let's see you do better, then," Eriol countered, tossing the glowsticks at Syaoran. He reacted, catching them in one hand by reflex. 

"Nah, I'm just kidding, man. You weren't bad. I don't have that many fancy moves like you. But I think my accuracy is better." 

"I must be hearing things. Are you guys talking about the _mechanics_ of raving??" cried Tomoyo. "Sakura, I think we should go and find some guys who actually come to dance with us. Not this boring stuff."

"No, I wanna see it," Sakura said, beaming up at Syaoran, who blushed. "I want to see you rave." Next to them, Keichii shifted uncomfortably.

"Hmph!" Tomoyo glared at Eriol as if to say, "See what you're doing?"      

"Ah, you're just bitter because we're so awesome and you don't know how." Eriol leaned close and nuzzled Tomoyo's hair. "Want me to teach you?"

"_Fine_," Tomoyo relented. She turned to Syaoran with an expectant look on her face. "But I want him to go first."

"Then I'll do it without strings, just for variation." Syaoran unhooked the strings and handed them to Eriol. "Now...let's see..." He swung his arms experimentally, and a bright snakey pattern appeared in the air before them. Syaoran's raving was indeed smoother and had more flow to it; the way he moved his arms was almost martial arts-like. A kind of excited pride began to build up in Sakura's chest. This was _Syaoran_. There were so many different sides of him, so many talents she had yet to discover from him. 

"Hey Sakura, don't move!" he cautioned, stepping up to her so that the tips of their shoes were facing. With a comforting grin, he twisted the lights at his command all the way around Sakura, surrounding her with a glowing blur. Sakura laughed but kept her body completely rigid, only moving her head a few inches so she could see everything. It was like being inside a cage of dancing lights, but she didn't feel trapped. Syaoran's blazing eyes were opposite her, holding her, cradling her gently. 

When he finally stopped, Sakura still couldn't keep her eyes off him. "That was...amazing," she whispered, and in the clamoring of the dance, no one was able to hear a whisper. But perhaps Syaoran had read the words from her lips, because he leaned in to speak into her ear.

"Thank you. You were amazing too. And you still are."

He turned to Keichii, who had been standing silently in the background all this time, just watching them. "Here, you want to try?" Syaoran offered. 

"No, it's okay. I...I can't," said Keichii, putting up his hands. 

"Oh come on! Just try!" urged Sakura. Keichii eyed her for a second, then held out his hand for the glowsticks and strings. Hooking them up was the easy part. But when he tried to imitate the movements of Eriol and Syaoran, the strings slammed into each other, tangled, and fell to the ground.

The others were silent as Keichii bent down to gather the sticks up. "See, I can't do it," he laughed. But Sakura could see no mirth in his laughter. Her eyes followed the boy as he handed the glowsticks back to Eriol and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sakura called out.

"Somewhere else," replied Keichii. "This next one is a slow song. You already have your partner. Don't wait."

All around them, couples were already forming and moving slowly along to the song. Without a moment's hesitation, Eriol grabbed Tomoyo by the hand and led her closer to the DJ's stand and lights. 

The two of them were alone once again.

Syaoran looked at Sakura with a small, inquiring smile. "I don't want Keichii to be alone," she confessed, though her heart was thumping with the need to be close to Syaoran. 

His smile wavered slightly. "So what do you want to do?"

"I think...I think we should find Meilin." 

With a nod, Syaoran took her hand, and they began to make their way around the embracing couples. Each step brought a slight pang to Sakura's heart. She knew that she and Syaoran should be dancing too...but she just couldn't while her friend was unhappy. 

"There she is." Syaoran's voice brought her back to reality. There was Meilin, standing with a cluster of friends who were laughing and giggling. Sakura caught her eye and waved her over quickly.

"What?" asked Meilin, moving her feet impatiently.

"Um...it's Keichii," began Sakura. "I think he...he..."

"He needs a girlfriend now?" Meilin scoffed. "I saw him walk past a minute ago. Don't worry about him, I'm sure there are plenty of girls lining up to dance with him." 

"No, I don't think so. Look." Syaoran pointed. A girl walked up to Keichii and said something to him that Sakura couldn't hear. At once, he backed up and shook his head, and the girl stalked away furiously. Three other girls who had been eyeing him immediately glared and turned away.

"Well, he deserves it," said Meilin, but she didn't sound so sure now. Her eyes kept darting back to the forlorn-looking Keichii, standing alone. Sakura saw that this was her chance.

"Please, Meilin," she implored quietly. "Just go talk to him, try to cheer him up somehow. I liked the old, happy Keichii better, and I'm sure you want him back too." 

Meilin turned to her, looking a little nervous. "You know, maybe I'll just go and try..." With that, she set off for Keichii. He whirled around in surprise when she tapped his shoulder. Sakura watched carefully, but she was sure that not a word was exchanged between them before Meilin opened her arms and gathered him in. 

Letting out a sigh, Sakura squeezed Syaoran's hand and leaned lightly against him so that their shoulders touched. His arm was warm against her bare one.

"I think that was worth it, just to see that beautiful smile back on your face," said Syaoran. 

"Mmm..." replied Sakura. "I still want to dance though." Eyes sparkling, she slid her arms around his neck and brought herself close, eliminating the space between them.

His hands rested gently on her waist, and his arms held her in just the right way for her to feel warm and secure. This was something she had been awaiting for ages. Sure, they'd had hugs, but this was under the starlight, surrounded by crooning music, depending on each other for warmth...

Not to mention, they got to hold each other for a much, much longer time than just a hug would allow.

"I think this song is almost done," whispered Syaoran. Sure enough, the music was fading out, but still they clung to each other.

"Don't let go yet." Closing her eyes, Sakura rested her head on his shoulder and immersed herself inside this precious feeling. But a blaring beat didn't pop out like she had expected. Instead, the last notes melded into another slow song. 

"Yesss...now we get to make up for missing half the last one." Sakura smiled into Syaoran's shoulder. This was bliss... She could feel his heart pounding so close to hers, his soft breath in her hair, his warmth... She had never known how beautifully warm dancing with someone could be. 

"Sakura." She felt his voice in his chest, and soft as a spring breeze against her ear. 

"Yes?" she breathed, arranging her arms more comfortably around him.

"I'm never gonna let go of you," he murmured.

Sakura smiled. "Okay."

For a minute, they swayed back and forth in wonderful silence, drowning in the music and in the breathless presence of one another. 

_Maybe this is it, _thought Sakura. _Maybe I should tell him right now._

Syaoran spoke up again before she could decide. "There aren't many people in my life that I can say I've truly loved. You know me so well. Maybe better than anyone. You know something about what it was like before."

Heart pounding faster, she gave him an understanding squeeze. This sounded like... oh, did she dare hope for it? 

"Before you, Sakura, I don't think I fully understood what it meant to be alive. It's like...now I can see, now I can breathe, I can feel. I always felt like some part of me wasn't really complete, but when I met you...you filled that incomplete part for me. I think I understand more about myself and my life now than I ever did."

Sakura kept her eyes wide open now, drinking in every word. She felt it coming...she knew it...

Pulling back just a little, Syaoran looked down into her green eyes. "You showed me what love was. I haven't experienced much of this emotion in all my life... but I know that when I see you, my heart just overflows with it. And I want to give it all to you. And no matter how much I give, there will always be more, so it's endless."

Heart aching with the wait, Sakura leaned forward and touched her forehead to his. "I feel exactly the same," she whispered. "You're the one I love most." 

The words that had rested there inside her for so long...finally, finally, at long last, set free.

"I love you more," said Syaoran, mere inches away.

"No, I do." Her eyes were closed now, only waiting, waiting.

"All right...I'll let you win this time," he murmured softly. "Because I love you."

Their lips touched, their first kiss, and the first thing Sakura knew was that his lips were so amazingly soft, so warm against hers... The heavenly sensation spreaded throughout her body, flowing through her veins and making her body tingle. 

It was such a beautiful thing, so perfect, that she wondered if maybe she was asleep. But no, Syaoran was solid and real beneath her arms.

***A/N – **YAY!! ^___^ I'm sorry for taking forever, everyone! The first week or two of school always throws me off, but don't worry, I'll try my hardest to get this story out and done with. I'll still try to stick to my original "one chapter per week" schedule, but if I can't, you'll have to be patient with me. But not for too long! Just a few chapters left, to tie up loose ends and so on. Please keep up your wonderful wonderful support, because your feedback and ideas are still ever so important to me. You can still affect the outcome of this story, or how it is written! So talk to me! 


	16. Stars of Remembrance

**.::Spilling Stars::.**

**By Fantasiimaker**

**~Chapter Sixteen: Stars Of Remembrance**

"I'll get it!" Syaoran called out, bursting out of his room as soon as he heard the doorbell. Skidding to a halt at the front door, he took a breath and tried to calm himself down. It was so hard to keep that jittery feeling in his stomach away, even now. 

He was grinning even before the door swung open. "Hey," he said, unable to take his eyes off those breathtaking green eyes. 

"Hi," smiled Sakura. Her gaze washed over him like sun-warmed ocean waves. 

"You look beautiful," Syaoran murmured. 

"I look the same as I did when you saw me an hour ago!" she laughed. "And maybe even worse, since the wind blew my hair all over the place on my walk here." 

"So what. I have the right to tell you how incredibly beautiful you are. So I will. Whenever I feel like it." He stuck his tongue out at her, but Sakura only giggled and shoved him out of the way so she could enter the house. Following closely at her back, Syaoran slyly gave her hair a yank. 

But Sakura's reflexes were quick. Dashing out in an instant, her hand caught his, and she whirled around to face him. "If you like my hair so much, why don't you grow out your own," she suggested. "Then you'll have nice long silky hair to play with, and then we can go to Tomoyo's and get you a makeover..."

Her voice trailed off as Syaoran leaned over and kissed her hair. He wasn't sure if completely disregarding her words would annoy her or not, but he just couldn't resist. "Nah...it's okay. It wouldn't be as fun." Smiling into her hair as he felt her arms wind around his neck, Syaoran gave her a gentle squeeze. After a month of being together, it was still amazing to him. Who knew love could be so warm?

"AHEM." 

They broke apart hurriedly at the voice. Standing in the doorway was a tall young man with dark hair and a less than happy expression on his face. "Oh, Touya!" said Sakura. "What are you doing here? I told you not to follow me!"

"Well, I did," he growled. "And I don't see any HOMEWORK going on here. So this must be the little brat?" 

"Hey!" exclaimed Syaoran, bristling with anger. "Who do you think you are?" 

"It's okay, Syaoran, it's just my brother." She rolled her eyes. "Touya, please. You can go home now." 

Touya didn't move from his position at the door. His piercing eyes were fixed on Syaoran, who glared evenly back. 

"Um, guys?" Sakura asked, looking positively exasperatedly. 

"Fine, I'm leaving!" Touya finally said. "Listen, you, don't you dare hurt my sister. If you ever make her cry-" He held up his fist and shook it threateningly. 

"Never," Syaoran promised, his eyes burning. 

"You'd better not, for your own sake," replied Touya. He punched Syaoran in the arm, making him wince. "Be home by dinner, Sakura, and have that homework finished. Or else we're not going tomorrow."

"Stupid brother," grumbled Sakura as she closed the door behind him. "He came home from college today because they don't have school next Monday, so he's spending the long weekend with us. I told him not to come here because he's so overly protective, as you saw, but I guess he came along without me knowing. Sorry about that." 

"No problem," said Syaoran. "Um, did he say you guys are going somewhere tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah!" Her eyes brightened. "Since it'll be Saturday, and the cold season is coming soon, and Touya is home, I managed to convince my dad to let us go to the beach!"

"Oh...cool," he said, trying to sound happy for her. But he had hoped to spend some time with her tomorrow. 

"Stupid, you're coming with us!" exclaimed Sakura, grabbing his arm and yanking him toward his room. On second thought, she left him standing bewildered in the hall and disappeared for a moment in the other direction. "Hi Mrs. Li! Thanks for having me over!" he heard her cheerful voice float out from the living room where his mother was working. 

Smiling, he shook his head and began to pull out binders and papers from his backpack. He turned as Sakura bounded into his room and tossed her backpack on his bed. "Are you sure it's okay for me to come along? I mean, I don't want to ruin a family thing..." 

"It's _fine_," Sakura confirmed, flipping to the right page in her math book. "And it's not just you. Your mom's coming too." 

"WHAT? But that's-"

"And Tomoyo's mom," she continued. "It's a three-family outing, plus Eriol since his parents are overseas somewhere. This way, me, you, Tomo, and Eriol get to hang out together, the parents get to hang out together, and Touya has some friends he's gonna meet there." 

"Oh. Okay, that's cool," Syaoran grinned, relieved. 

Setting down her math book, Sakura wandered over to the birdcage. "How've you been, my widdle Xiao Ying poo?" she said, opening the door for the bird. 

"Hey, don't spoil my budgie like that!" complained Syaoran, holding up a hand. Xiao Ying flitted to him immediately and started up his arm to chew on his hair. "You're a big grown-up birdie now, aren't you, Ying?"

"Sakura!" Ying squeaked in response, evoking a squeal of delight from Sakura. 

"You really taught him to say my name!" she cried, dashing over and giving Syaoran a big hug. 

"Nah, he's just a really smart bird," he replied modestly. "And he loves you a lot." 

"Aww...thank you, Xiao Ying!" said Sakura. She kissed him quickly on the beak and paused for a moment. "What?" she said to Syaoran, who was gazing at her expectantly.

"Oh, so you give the bird a kiss and not me?" he huffed, pretending to be outraged. "Is it my looks? I see, Xiao Ying is just too handsome for me to compare, huh. Fine." Frowning at her, he let the bird back into its home and flopped heavily down on his back on the bed. When Sakura peered curiously down at his face, he grabbed a pillow and covered his head. 

"Go away," he said, his voice muffled against the pillow. "I'm feeling hurt and depressed."

Syaoran heard a giggle, then felt a warm hand reach under the pillow and caress his cheek. "Mmm..wah," came Sakura's voice, along with a slight pressure on the pillow against his face. "There. I kissed you." 

"That doesn't count! You kissed the pillow!" remarked Syaoran, reaching out for another pillow. "Here, this-" He bonked her on the head. "-is for liking the bird better than me, and this-" He smacked her gently with the other pillow. "-is for being such an amazing person." 

"What kind of logic is that??" she cried. She struggled to reach one of the pillows in vain, since he was holding them above her head. 

"_My _logic," he replied, tossing both pillows at her and running for his life. 

"AAHH Syaoran, you idiot! You are so dead!" shouted Sakura. Grabbing the pillows, she chased after him into the living room and bombarded his back with pillow blows while his mother watched amusedly. 

"Okay...okay..." he gasped, laughter broken with a quick glance at his mother. "Let's go do homework now." 

"Butthead," Sakura growled. She slapped him one last time with a pillow before he yanked it from her and ushered her back into his room. At their backs, he could hear Yelan chuckle.

"All right," said Syaoran, taking a breath. "Math. Need help on any problems...? Sakura!" 

Paying no attention to him, she was halfway across the room, examining a long sword on the wall. "That's awesome," she breathed. "Can I see it?" 

With a sigh, he took it down and drew the gleaming sword out. "Wow..." Sakura gingerly touched the cold metal. "Do you know how to use it?" 

"Well, I do, but I don't use this one anymore. It's too small, and it's only a practice sword," he explained. "It was my first sword ever. There were some valuable lessons and reminders that go with this sword...as well as certain memories..." _The little girl. _His heart thumped as he remembered. She had once grasped this sword, and he had helped her lift it. He shook his head. It didn't matter now. He had Sakura. 

"Mmm." She nodded slowly, with a strange expression on her face. As though there was something on her mind she was trying to remember, but couldn't. Her gaze met his, and it cleared again as they smiled at each other. "Okay, let's work. Or else we'll never get to go to the beach," she said, reaching for her pencil.

Two hours later, as they were just finishing up the last few math problems, Sakura's pencil ran out of lead. "Darn it," she muttered, furiously clicking the eraser end. "Syaoran, you have some spare lead lying around?" 

"Yeah, over there. That drawer under the desk," he said, pointing. "Should be in there somewhere, under all those papers and other stuff." 

"'Kay, I found it," replied Sakura. 

Syaoran went back to his math problem, expecting Sakura to come back to his side. But she didn't, and there was only silence. After a second, he looked up. 

She was still there at the shelf, staring inside with an odd look on her face. The same expression Syaoran had seen when she had looked at the sword. "Hey, what is it?" he asked. 

In answer, she reached into the drawer, scooped something up from the bottom, and came slowly over to him. She held out her hand, and it took a moment for Syaoran to realize what it was. 

A small pile of slightly crumpled, fading paper stars, layered with dust.

"Her stars!" he uttered, before he could stop himself.

Sakura's eyes rose to meet his. "Who?" 

Reddening, Syaoran was silent as he went over to the drawer and rooted around before coming up with a small, rectangular glass box. He held it to Sakura, and she let the stars fall into their rightful place. But her eyes never left his. 

"Whose stars, Syaoran? Who is it?" Her voice trembled a little. Syaoran tried to shove those cursed stars back into the drawer, but she stopped his hand. _Oh great, she must think they're from another girl now. How can I explain? _

"Look, I don't exactly know who she is-" he began, but Sakura cut him off by pouncing on his neck. 

"Where's your shell necklace?" she demanded, her voice rising. 

"It's...uh...on the bookshelf," said Syaoran, confused. Did she think his necklace was from another girl too? He blushed. Well, technically, it _was_, but it was so long ago...

Snatching it off the shelf, Sakura held it gently in her hands as thought it might break any moment, like a fragile egg. Her eyes flew from the shell to the stars in Syaoran's hand. A look of dawning realization flitted across her face. 

"You're the one..." she whispered wonderingly. "You're...him. It wasn't just a dream..." 

"What?" asked Syaoran, staring at her. 

"Come on," she said simply. She took off down the hall and to the front door, with Syaoran steps behind her.

"W-wait, where are we going?" he stumbled, following her outside. He was barely able to keep up with her fast-paced walking, so he jogged next to her instead.

"My house," replied Sakura. She was focused on the sidewalk ahead with a look of strict determination.

"But...why?"

"You'll see when we get there." 

It was silent for the rest of the walk, until Sakura reached her house, threw open the door, and raced upstairs without a word. Syaoran came in more hesitantly, closing the door behind him. Fujitaka and Touya both stared at him, and he wanted to sink into a hole in the floor. 

"Did you do something to her already, you brat?" Touya glared at him menacingly. 

"N-no! I didn't do anything!" protested Syaoran, his face turning pink. "She just made me come with her here and-" 

"SYAORAN!" shouted Sakura from upstairs. At once, he bolted up the stairs and followed her voice into her room. The clomping of feet behind him could be heard as Touya and Fujitaka followed. 

An open box was sitting on her bed, and around it was littered small clothes and mementos from her childhood. Syaoran could tell that this box hadn't been opened for a long time. 

"Look," she said breathlessly, holding out an open palm. "Look. I found them. I told you I'd keep them forever." 

A small handful of yellowing, clumsily-made paper stars. Syaoran couldn't rip his eyes away from them. Those stars..._the stars he had made..._

The auburn-haired little girl's voice echoed into his mind. _"I'll keep 'em, and I'll never lose them, ever!"_

_"I'll never lose your shell either. I'll always keep it close to me." _His lips slowly traced the words he had said so long ago, in reply. 

Syaoran looked at the shell necklace Sakura was clutching, then into her quivering emerald eyes, filled with tears. 

"I never did...I never lost it," he whispered, putting his hand over hers, the one holding the shell. "I never lost the memories, they had just been inside me, waiting...waiting to be let out. I..." 

"I remember you now," she smiled happily through her tears. "I've finally found you...my amber-eyed little boy..." 

She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, tears of happiness spilling down like sparkling raindrops. 

*****

"Oh my gosh, you should have called me!" gushed Tomoyo. She slammed a fist down on Eriol's knee for emphasis, and he grimaced in pain. "Imagine what a tape it would've made...how emotional...ugh, I can't believe I missed it!!" 

"Oh sure, call you over, and then have us do a reenactment of the scene?" said Syaoran wryly. He eyed Sakura, who was sitting next to him, and she giggled. 

"Yeah! Could you?" Tomoyo asked hopefully, twisting around in her seat to look back at the two. 

"No!" They both bursted out at the same time. Their hearty laughter was joined with Fujitaka's from the driver's seat. 

"Hey, I wonder how your mom and Tomoyo's mom are doing in the other car," mused Sakura as she snuggled a bit closer to Syaoran, squishing him against the car door. 

"With your brother and his friend?" Syaoran scoffed. "They can't be having nearly as much fun as we are." 

"Sakura, who was that hot guy with Touya anyway?" said Tomoyo slyly.

Laughing at Eriol's consternation, Sakura replied, "He's Yukito, a friend of Touya's from college. Isn't he cute, though? Whaddya think, Syaoran?" She grinned and poked him in the side. 

"Yeah, sure, he's so hot, blah blah blah..." his voice trailed off as he suddenly stuck his nose in her hair. "Mmm...your hair smells like flowers," he murmured absently, playing with a reddish-brown strand. 

"Do you have no PRIDE, Syaoran?" cried Eriol. "_I _think that you girls need to stop being so mean to us."

"Well, no one cares what you think," Tomoyo teased him. At his crestfallen expression, she leaned her head on his shoulder and gave a contented sigh, at which he immediately melted. 

From the front, Fujitaka heaved an exaggerated sigh. "You kids make me feel old and gray," he lamented, glancing up at the couples from the mirror. 

"Aww, Mr. Kinomoto, we need to find you a girlfriend," said Eriol, with a grin that indicated he was plotting evilly. "How about...Yelan?" 

"Ewww no!!" screamed Sakura, staring at Eriol with horror. "Then Syaoran will be my brother!" 

"Oh yeah...forgot. Okay then. Sonomi?"

"Yes, that'd be cool!" exclaimed Tomoyo, her eyes lighting up. "Then we could be sisters, Sakura!" 

"As much as I appreciate the thoughts, Eriol, I'm quite all right the way I am," Fujitaka chuckled. "I'm not completely alone, anyway. Nadeshiko is always here beside me." 

Sakura smiled. "If I was ever gone, would you say the same thing, Syaoran?" 

"Of course," he answered at once, resting his head against hers. "But I won't ever have to, because you'll never be gone. You'll always be here with me."

*****

***A/N – **Yup, that's it! Everything's all tied up (mostly)! The....END! ^_^ 

Okay, I'm extremely sorry for taking...nearly two months on this chapter? Geez, has it really been that long? O_O Wow...well anyway, if I had been reading this story and the author took so long, I'd probably be: 1) really mad that she took so freakin long, and 2) having no idea what the heck she's talkin about in this chapter because I'd forget everything that happened before... So once again, sorry, and feel free to read the entire story over again to get a better ending effect! I did. ^_^

Now that this story is FINALLY over with, once I find the time somewhere underneath these humongous piles of schoolwork and SAT prep and all that fun stuff, I'll start a new one. I can't wait! :-D Maybe I'll have to wait until summer again, when I actually disciplined myself to update once or twice a week... -_-;; But no, don't worry, I'll be back soon! Please watch for the new story when it comes! ^^

Reviewers and readers:

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL!! You're part of what kept me going, provided me loads of inspiration, and made me smile and feel it was all worthwhile. As always, I'm extremely glad to know that you like my story even a tiny lil bit! Even the shortest comment, like "Nice story.", is awesome. ^_____^ I wish I could take the time to thank each and every one of you individually, but as you can see from above, I'm finally getting into the true meaning of BUSY in high school. So just remember how much every word you put in, every minute you spent reading about Saku and Syaoran, means to me! (LOTS!!) ^__^

You can always AIM me at Fantasiimaker if I'm ever online, or feel free to email me at fantasiimaker@msn.com if you have questions, comments, anything. If you personally email me, I always reply! 

Oh, and I'll be compiling a last "Q&A" chapter to answer in detail any questions (Why is the story called "Spilling Stars"?), clear up fuzzy parts of the story, or to laugh at where the authoress was dumb and made a big glaring mistake. (Example: Ch14, Tomoyo had her camera at the beginning of the dance, but in Ch15, her camera somehow ceased to exist...-_-;;) So in your reviews or emails, be SURE to point any mistakes/questions you want answered out to me!!! If your question is unique, I'll put your name next to it in the Q&A chappie. ^_~

Ok, that's it! Hope you enjoyed your journey through Spilling Stars, and please come back and read again sometime! 


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